Ontario Legislature Building, Queens Park
Earlier this week, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore published his 2022 annual report.
Called Being Ready: Ensuring Public Health Preparedness for Infectious Outbreaks and Pandemics, the 58 page document focuses primarily on pandemic preparedness and the need for consistent public funding to health-related causes.
The report was issued to the legislative assembly of Ontario and also released publicly for anyone to read.
Dr. Moore himself says the report is, "a call to take key lessons from the pandemic, as well as H1N1 and SARS, to ensure Ontario is ready for any future outbreak or pandemic, whenever it might occur."
"Over the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic required sacrifices from individuals, families, business, the health care system and partners from the public health sector. While Ontario has done well overall, like all jurisdictions we were largely unprepared for a serious outbreak that would last years. We must learn from this experience."
He goes on to add that, "Being Ready is not an assessment of Ontario's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, nor is it specific to COVID-19. The report is a call to take key lessons from the pandemic, as well as H1N1 and SARS, to ensure Ontario is ready for any future outbreak or pandemic, whenever it might occur."
Echoing previous public health reports, the report calls for an end to what Dr. Moore calls the "boom and bust" cycle of funding in Ontario, where investments in public health are increased following major events but subsequently taper off as time passes.
"With continued investments in public health preparedness," says Moore, "Ontario can build and maintain its health system and its community and societal readiness to respond to future challenges."
Abby Anaday on Unsplash
His recommendations include continuing to:
- Build a skilled, adaptable, and resilient health care workforce
- Invest in scientific expertise, technologies, systems, and supplies
- Invest in other resources needed to detect and manage outbreaks
Dr. Moore concludes that "It is also important to continue building social trust, counter misinformation, and help people understand how and why decisions are made while providing the information and tools they need to protect themselves and those around them."
"When considering the next serious public health threat, it’s not a question of if but of when. Global outbreaks such as MPOX and resurgent threats like Polio, are already here. The next pandemic may not be far off."
Further recommendations
Additional recommendations in the report include:
- Continuing to build a skilled, adaptable and resilient health care workforce as well as investing in scientific expertise, technologies, systems, supplies, and other resources we need to detect and manage outbreaks
- Ensuring all communities and settings, especially those facing health and social inequities, are supported through collaborative partnerships to be resilient and have better health outcomes during future outbreaks
- Continuing to build social trust, counter misinformation, and help people understand how and why decisions are made while providing the information and tools they need protect themselves and those around them
- Routine collection of sociodemographic data and community-based efforts to reduce health inequities which, as COVID-19 has proven, can help ensure more equitable outbreak and pandemic responses
- Ongoing assessment and reporting on the state of Ontario’s pandemic preparedness through future Chief Medical Officer of Health reports
In addition to ongoing assessment, the report says Ontario remains "committed to":
- examining ways to strengthen accountabilities for preparedness
- working with Indigenous, Black and other racialized peoples to improve health inequities
- sustaining the relationships within the public health system and with health sector colleagues
A full copy of the report is available to read online here.
More information about the 2022 annual report can be found on Ontario's website.
