The following is adapted from an article by Agence France-Presse in Geneva that appeared in The Guardian on August 18.

RNAO issued the following media release in response to the government’s August 17 announcement on vaccination policy.

With a federal election happening on Sept. 20, 2021, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) calls on Canadians to vote for health. RNAO’s policy platform for this election, released today, asks voters to choose health when they head to the polls.

Dear Colleagues: Welcome to our Saturday, August 21 report during this nineteenth month of COVID-19 in Ontario. In this update we share: (1) RNAO’s policy platform for the 2021 federal election; (2) RNAO’s media release in response to the Ontario government’s latest announcement; (3) WHO condemns rush by wealthy nations to give Covid vaccine booster; and (4) a call on Canada to back the WHO moratorium on booster shots and to donate vaccines.

RNAO welcomes the news that the Ontario government will mandate vaccines for hospital, long-term care (LTC) and homecare workers, give booster shots to the vulnerable, and halt further reopening. RNAO calls for further urgent action and urges the premier, minister of health, other cabinet ministers, and Ontario’s chief medical officer of health to move quickly and save lives.

RNAO welcomes the news that the Ontario government will mandate vaccines for hospital, long-term care (LTC) and homecare workers, give booster shots to the vulnerable, and halt further reopening. RNAO calls for further urgent action and urges the premier, minister of health, other cabinet ministers, and Ontario’s chief medical officer of health to move quickly and save lives.

This article by four Australian pediatricians summarizes what we know about the Delta variant and schools.

We are in the midst of a fourth wave driven by the Delta variant. This July 5 article from Michael Toole, Professor of International Health at the Burnet Institute in Australia, summarizes what we know about this variant.

RNAO is considering the question of a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The following article from Sheena Cruickshank reflects our current thinking on the matter. Basically, we believe it is too early to launch a vaccine booster program in Canada, except for immunodeficient persons and adults 80 years and older.