Ontario is further accelerating the roll-out of second doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

During a technical media briefing on Thursday (June 17), provincial officials provided details of the accelerated roll-out, which is intended to prevent the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant (B.1.617.2, first identified in India).

Beginning on Monday (June 21), adults who received their first dose between April 19 and May 9 will be able to book an earlier appointment for their second dose. Originally, the eligibility date for accelerated second doses was July 19.

Beginning on Wednesday (June 23), adults who live in Delta hot spots and received their first dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine on or before May 30 can book an accelerated second dose. The current Delta hot spots are Halton, Peel, Porcupine, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, York, Hamilton, Simcoe-Muskoka, and Durham.

Beginning on Monday (June 28), the province will “gradually” accelerate eligibility for second doses for the remaining adult population who received their first dose on and after May 10. Originally, the eligibility date for adults who received their first dose from May 10 to 30 was August 2, and the date for adults who received their first dose May 31 and later was August 16.

For children, youth, and young adults, the province will accelerate the eligibility dates for second doses, originally scheduled between August 9 and 22, but has not yet confirmed the new dates.

According to provincial officials, the acceleration of second doses is possible because additional shipments of the Moderna vaccine have been confirmed for June, including more than 1.2 million doses this week and almost 2.2 million doses next week, for a total of 3.3 million Moderna doses.

The province is also receiving almost 1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week and each of the following two weeks, for a total of 2.8 million Pfizer doses.

Because the increased vaccine supply is primarily the Moderna vaccine, provincial officials said some people accelerating their second-dose appointments may receive a dose of Moderna rather than Pfizer.

People booking through the provincial system will only learn which type of vaccine they will receive when they arrive at the clinic. Provincial officials acknowledged that some people have shown reluctance to receive the Moderna vaccine.

For people who received a first dose of AstraZeneca, as of June 14, they became eligible to receive a second dose of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, or Moderna between eight and 12 weeks after they received their first dose.

To date, 75 per cent of adult Ontarians have received at least one dose of vaccine, with more than 19 per cent of adults fully immunized. Over 48 per cent of Ontarians between 12 and 17 years of age have received at least one dose.

PDF: Ontario Vaccine Implementation Update – June 17, 2021
PDF: Ontario Vaccine Implementation Update - June 17, 2021

For the second year in a row, the annual fall Crayola Sale at the Lindsay Exhibition has been cancelled because of the pandemic.

Crayola Canada, which has been running the event as a fundraiser for United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes, decided to cancel the one-day sale that draws hundreds of people from across Ontario seeking Crayola products at discounted prices — some even camping out in advance of the sale.

“With so much uncertainty, we have made the very difficult decision to cancel the sale again, as the health and safety of staff, customers, and volunteers is our highest priority,” say Crayola Canada general manager Paul Murphy in a media release.

The fundraising sale ran for 30 years prior to its cancellation in 2020, and raised more than $1 million for the United Way in conjunction with Crayola’s workplace campaign.

“The cancellation of the sales does not change Crayola Canada’s commitment to our relationship with the United Way,” Murphy says. “We will continue to work with them and find new ways to support their efforts within our community.”

To support United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes, visit ckl-unitedway.ca/donate-now/,

What seemed liked a good idea at the time has become bogged down in the procedural red tape that is all too often frustratingly commonplace in the political realm.

A series of 21 recommendations emanating from the months-long work of the Community Recovery and Resilience Task Force — chaired by Mayor Diane Therrien — was presented to Peterborough city councillors Monday night (June 14).

The task force’s report came very close to being dismissed outright, as some councillors expressed concern over the future financial implications of the recommendations. Sensing that her motion seeking approval of the recommendations would fall short of the votes needed to pass, Mayor Therrien removed it.

In its place, she put forward a motion that the task force be reconvened and that it meet with Peterborough Commissioner of Corporate and Legislative Services Richard Freymond to review the recommendations’ possible budget implications with a report coming to council in November.

That motion passed and will go before city council June 28 for a final discussion and vote, at which time registered delegations may speak to the matter.

The road to that point was messy to say the least, prompting Mayor Therrien to issue a lengthy statement on Twitter the morning after the meeting in which she accused some councillors of “using a procedural technicality to try and stall this report.”

She also lamented their “refusal to step up and seize on this opportunity to build a stronger, more resilient community,” adding “It is a refusal to step up and reflect on what is a watershed moment with regards to recovery from the devastating effects of the pandemic on virtually all sectors of Peterborough.”

Some thoughts on last nights general committee meeting. Disappointed, but at this point not surprised @PappasTown If you’d like to read the report and recommendations, it can be found at: https://t.co/fQziOrJtEf item 9 b. pic.twitter.com/F3yI4UAWka

— Diane Therrien (@DianeNTherrien) June 15, 2021

In a subsequent interview with kawarthaNOW, Mayor Therrien said the councillors’ opposition to the recommendations by fearing their financial implications has no basis in truth. In fact, she says, the task force went out of its way to not connect dollars and cents to the recommendations.

“The goal (of the task force) wasn’t to look at things through a financial and economic lens but through the cultural and social impacts of COVID on the community,” Mayor Therrien said.

Many of the report’s recommendations are strategic and long term, and recognize additional work would be required by city staff to identify financial implications and pursue funding sources.

“The task force was very careful to not put any budgetary commitments in (the report),” Mayor Therrien added. “We knew at the moment there were any monetary commitments, council would take issue with it.”

“One of the goals of the task force was to get the city and the community thinking about (pandemic) recovery in a different way as opposed to having it tied to the budget cycle, the four-year election cycle — all that bureaucratic stuff. It’s bigger than that. It’s more complex than that.”

Mayor Therrien said she had a feeling her motion would be defeated at Monday night’s general committee meeting, having been alerted prior to the meeting by one councillor “who had the courtesy to let me know there was an effort to defeat it without telling me, by using a procedural nitpicking tactic.”

“I’m disappointed but not surprised. During a term of many disheartening moments, this is yet another one. But the hardest part for me is there were so many people that put so much time into this (task force).”

“The process wasn’t perfect, the report certainly isn’t perfect, but the fact that this effort to not talk to me about it is what is most frustrating. People can personally attack me — I’m used to that — but this has impacts on the broader community.”

While those councillors opposed to the task force report cited potential financial implications of the recommendations as their main concern, a source tells kawarthaNOW the big point of contention is some councillors’ claims they were “blindsided” by the recommendations, only being aware of them for the first time when the committee meeting agenda was made available late last week.

The task force was struck in July 2020 with council’s approval. According to its terms of reference, the task force would exist for a six-month term with membership including the council-appointed chairs of social services and arts, culture and heritage (Councillor Keith Riel), waste management (Councillor Gary Baldwin), transportation (Councillor Kemi Akapo), housing (Councillor Henry Clarke), and arena, parks and recreation (Councillor Lesley Parnell), along with four city staff members.

However, Councillor Riel tells kawarthaNOW he was never invited to any of the task force’s meetings.

“Unless I missed an email or something, I was never asked to attend any of these meetings, even though I’m supposed to be there,” he said, adding Councillors Baldwin and Clarke also weren’t notified of task force meetings either.

“So the meetings took place and then we got this list of recommendations. There are some good ones, there are some that are so-so, but others have huge financial implications for the city. These have to vetted. If on Monday night we just arbitrarily passed and accepted these recommendations, we’d be accepting them without any due diligence. We have to know what the cost is here.”

Councillor Riel adds the first time he saw the recommendations was when he received his committee meeting package last Thursday (June 10).

“I thought ‘Holy God, there are millions and millions of dollars here. There’s a huge impact to our budget here that needs to be addressed. So we’re going to defer it (acceptance of the recommendations) invite the people back together and look at each recommendation.”

“There were community members involved — and God love them for doing that — but we have to go back. Not throw out the baby with the bath water, but look at these recommendations and get the people that were supposed to be at the table together. We’re just starting the budget process, so it’s not a loss. We’ll discuss the recommendations and maybe even add some.”

According to its terms of reference, the task force also includes community representation from a broad range of sectors, including social services, the environment, arts, culture and heritage, sports, parks and recreation, urban Indigenous, and waste management.

One of the task force members is Su Ditta, the executive director of the Electric City Culture Council (EC3). She reiterated Mayor Therrien’s point that these are broad recommendations at this point, put in place to get the ball on pandemic recovery rolling sooner than later, with any financial implications reserved for a fuller discussion at a later time.

“There are some (recommendations) that have financial implications in principal,” Ditta said. “It would be great to have investments in this kind of recovery program, but (the report) doesn’t ask for any particular amount of money.”

“I think it’s important for the city to have a report like this in hand, with very specific things, to help bolster their argument with the province and the feds for what kind of recovery initiatives they might take if money was offered or being discussed. These are the general priority areas.”

One of the report’s recommendations related to the arts sector reads “Task Force to work with City staff to identify specific financial investments, stimulus measures and City/arts sector partnerships and collaborations to provide support to professional artists, address on-going revenue challenges for arts organizations, help the sector prepare for safe and successful re-opening, and prevent permanent closures and loss.”

Another reads “Explore ways to recognize the important economic and social contributions that Peterborough’s vibrant arts and culture community make to the well-being of all citizens and to the quality of life of in the City of Peterborough. Promote on-going collaboration with and support of the arts, culture and heritage sector to ensure its long-term resilience.”

A full copy of the report to council and its 21 recommendations is provided at the end of this story.

“We have really great ideas coming forward on the environment front, on the Indigenous front, on the arts, culture and heritage front,” Ditta said. “Nobody is saying we need $200,000 for these. I’m not sure what the rationale was behind the push back. I don’t quite understand it.”

Ditta says EC3 will have a representative at the June 28 council meeting to address councillors prior to the vote on Mayor Therrien’s revised motion.

Pointing to the severe impacts of the pandemic on the local arts community, Ditta says the sector “has been perpetually underfunded. Some people think we give too much money to the arts, but the contribution that the arts makes to the economy in Peterborough is well documented. We’ve presented statistics to council many times.”

Despite the finger wagging and personal comments that Monday night’s meeting spawned, Mayor Therrien says the task force will remain active and relevant moving forward.

“The people that are on the task force will continue to do the work because that’s the kind of people they are. People who work in the environmental and non-profit and community-based sectors are used to overcoming obstacles. Still, I’m going to have to give a pep talk at the next meeting.”

Looking ahead to the June 28 council meeting when the matter will again be up for discussion and a vote, Mayor Therrien is hopeful that a central message will emerge.

“The community experts and volunteers that helped with this should be listened to. There is an urgency to this. There’s an opportunity for people to come and speak about the importance of supporting the arts and the environment and the other sectors as opposed to paying lip service to those things.”

PDF: Community Recovery and Resilience Task Force Recommendations
eport COU21-002 - The Community Recovery and Resilience Task Force Recommendations

Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.

Ontario is reporting 384 new cases today, with most of the cases in Waterloo (71), Peel (60), Toronto (54). The seven-day average of daily cases has decreased by 4 to 475.

Hospitalizations have increased by 5 to 438, with ICU patients decreasing by 5 to 377 and patients on ventilators decreasing by 2 to 242. Ontario is reporting 12 new deaths, with no new deaths in long-term care homes.

Over 11.7 million vaccine doses have been administered, a record increase of 202,984 since yesterday, with almost 80 per cent of Ontario’s total population now having received at least one dose. A record increase of 160,964 second doses were administered since yesterday, with almost 15 per cent of the total population now fully vaccinated.

For a daily summary of cases in Ontario, including a breakdown of cases in each of Ontario’s 34 health units, visit ontario.ca/page/how-ontario-is-responding-covid-19.

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 11 new cases to report, including 4 in Peterborough, 3 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward. There are no new cases in Haliburton.

An additional 10 cases have been resolved, including 5 in Peterborough, 4 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Northumberland.

Active cases have increased by 2 in Northumberland and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward, have decreased by 1 in Kawartha Lakes, and remain the same in Peterborough.

There are currently 58 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 2 from yesterday, including 34 in Peterborough, 12 in Kawartha Lakes, 6 in Hastings Prince Edward (3 in Quinte West and 3 in Belleville), and 6 in Northumberland. There are no active cases in Haliburton.

Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,564 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,509 resolved with 21 deaths), 1,075 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,019 resolved with 57 deaths), 936 in Northumberland County (913 resolved with 17 deaths), 121 in Haliburton County (120 resolved with 1 death), and 1,127 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,110 resolved with 11 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Kawartha Lakes on June 5.

For detailed data for each health unit, visit the COVID-19 trackers for Peterborough Public Health, Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, and Hastings Prince Edward Public Health.

For more information about COVID-19 in Ontario, visit covid-19.ontario.ca.

On three nights in June, Kawartha Lakes residents can get a COVID-19 vaccination without an appointment at the drive-through clinic at the Lindsay Exhibition.

The clinic, operated by Ross Memorial Hospital, is offering “No Appointment Needed Nights” from 4 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 17th, Tuesday, June 22nd, and Thursday, June 24th.

To be eligible to attend the clinic, you must be 18 years or older and be receiving either your first vaccine dose or your second vaccine dose (eight weeks after your first dose of AstraZeneca, or 28 days after your first dose of Pfizer or Moderna).

The “No Appointment Needed Nights” are the result of an increased supply of vaccine in the region, and those attending the clinic on these nights will receive a dose of the Moderna vaccine.

When attending the Lindsay Exhibition clinic, you must remain in your vehicle while receiving your vaccine dose and wear a face mask when interacting with clinic personnel. You are advised to wear a loose and comfortable shirt and must bring your Ontario health card.

Following your vaccination, you will be monitored in your vehicle for an additional 15 minutes, or 30 minutes if you have a history of allergic reactions.

As of Wednesday (June 14), 121,575 people in Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton have received first doses of vaccine, with more than 31,800 of those doses administered at the Lindsay Exhibition clinic.

Thanks to the generosity of the local community, the United Way Peterborough & District has exceeded its goal of collecting 250 care kits for people in need during the annual ‘Day of Caring’ held last Wednesday (June 9).

More than 120 local residents delivered 135 kits containing personal care and hygiene products and backpacks filled with school supplies to the United Way office in downtown Peterborough, with another 138 kits donated online, for a total of 275 kits.

Brant Basics, the locally owned independent office supply business in downtown Peterborough, also contributed more than 200 face masks to be included in the collected kits.

The annual ‘Day of Caring’ has traditionally been an opportunity for small groups of volunteers to work together on local projects. Due to the pandemic, the United Way instead asked people to donate to the United Way’s Backpacks for Kids initiative or to create a personal hygiene kit.

Backpacks for Kids sees school supplies delivered through local school for local elementary and secondary schools in the fall, when each school distributes the backpacks to children in need.

The personal hygiene kits will be delivered through local shelters for people who are experiencing homelessness, living in poverty, or in precarious financial situations.

“One young girl spent her allowance to create a kit,” says United Way CEO Jim Russell in a media release. “She said that when she first came to Peterborough, she received a backpack through her school and will never forget how proud and lucky that made her feel so was excited for the chance to pay it forward.”

Fundraising for Backpacks for Kids will continue through September, with monetary donations accepted online so the United Way can purchase school supplies.

Three members of a Peterborough family achieved their goal of walking from Peterborough to Ottawa and raising $10,000 for juvenile diabetes research.

The Cahill-Denis family participated in the Sun Life Walk to Cure Diabetes for JDRF in support of Mariloup Cahill, the youngest daughter of Peterborough business owner Rob Cahill and his wife Marie-Noelle Denis, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes almost two years ago when she was nine years old.

Team Ti-Loup — Marie-Noelle Denis, her oldest daughter Laurence Denis-Bertrand, and Laurence’s boyfriend David Patton — left Peterborough last Wednesday (June 9) on a 260-kilometre journey to Ottawa.

The three walkers walked around 30 kilometres per day, covering around 130 kilometres on foot — half of the total distance between Peterborough and Ottawa — as they encountered extreme heat, dusty roads, and many blisters.

Laurence Denis-Bertrand said the walk was harder than the team thought it would be.

“It was really long, but it was worth it for my little sister and all the children with diabetes,” she said.

The team arrived on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, having raised more than $10,000 for JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).

Their walk — coinciding with the 100-year anniversary of the Canadian discovery of insulin — received both local and national media attention.