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Thank you to the many parents, caregivers and community members in Ottawa and surrounding areas who tuned in to our Kids and Omicron Town Hall on January 6. This is a very difficult time for many families and CHEO is here to support you.
We’ve collected and answered the most frequently asked questions for you to read through. You can also find the full recording of our Town Hall here on YouTube.
Jump to the topic you’re interested in:
Schools and daycare
How can I support my child or youth who is struggling with their mental health while they are home from school? |
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This is a very challenging time. Parents know their children best and know what helps them. Suggested tips:
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Are schools safe if there is no contact tracing? |
| There is provincial guidance coming soon on case management in schools. Safety in schools, or anywhere, depends on multiple layers of protection. There are layers of protection in place in schools that are not present in the community, and they are working. Since the start of this pandemic we have consistently seen more children and youth contacting COVID-19 in the community than have in schools. Contact tracing is only one such measure — it is helpful, but it is just one tool. Temporarily suspending contact tracing now, while there is not enough staff to carry it out, does not mean that schools are not safe. |
What will be done to ensure that schools are safe to go back to? |
| Like CHEO, schools have multiple layers of safety in place. Since the start of this pandemic, most kids who have contacted COVID-19 did so in the community, not at school. The additional time away from in-person learning has given school boards more time to increase their layers of safety. CHEO contributed by holding booster clinics specifically for those who work in education and childcare including teachers, aids, cleaners, caregiver and administrators. |
Is it safe to send my kids to daycare? |
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We are disappointed that daycares have not received the same attention from provincial authorities as schools have. Fortunately, some additional safety measure have recently been extended to daycares, like N95 masking for staff and prioritizing boosters for daycare workers. Deciding whether or not to place your children in daycare is a tough decision during these tough times. It’s difficult to offer a simple answer and it’s really up to each family to make this decision after considering all their options. CHEO recommends consulting with your family doctor before deciding. |
Testing
How should my family use rapid antigen tests? Either the ones which we have obtained on our own or those supplied by schools? |
| Rapid antigen tests are most useful when they show a positive result — this indicates that the person has COVID. They are less useful when they show a negative result. They may provide piece of mind to people who have symptoms and a negative test result (it’s likely not COVID, but some other infection). But, and this is important, a negative test result is not a green light to remove other layers of protection. If you or someone in your household has symptoms, you should isolate. |
Vaccination
Since kids’ illness is mild with COVID-19 should I bother getting my children vaccinated? |
| Even though COVID-19 seems to be milder in children, we have seen instances of severe illness in children who had no underlying conditions. Vaccination provides an extra layer of protection for everyone, including kids, and even mild infections are still better to avoid. Just as you don’t send our kids out on a cold winter’s day without layers of protection, it’s best to provide multiple layers of protection for kids against COVID-19. COVID vaccines have been well studied in children between ages 5 and 18. They are very safe and they work very well. CHEO strongly recommends everyone be vaccinated, including children and youth. |
Should families wait eight weeks between first and second dose of COVID-19 vaccine for kids 5-11 or opt for a shorter interval? |
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What we know is that a longer time between giving the two first vaccine doses provides better and stronger long-term protection against COVID-19. In addition, some rare reports of cardiac side effects were reported in adolescents and young adults when the interval between 2 doses was shorter (3-4 weeks). A longer interval between doses may decrease the risk of these rare side effects. This is a decision that each family must make for themselves. If, in your situation, you can keep your child safe in the short-term, it may be best to wait eight weeks. If you’re concerned that your child may be at risk of infection right now, a shorter interval may be best for you. Neither decision is right or wrong — whatever you decide for your child is the right decision. |
When will there be boosters for children and youth under 18? |
| Presently, there are no boosters authorized for children and youth under 18. This is being reviewed by the National Advisory Council on Immunization. |
We recently had our first child and are wondering how much protection against omicron from the booster shot is expected to be passed through breast milk to our baby? |
| When you are pregnant there is excellent transfer of antibodies to your baby and they will get fairly high levels of antibodies. This will provide some protection in the first few months of life when babies are most vulnerable. Also, there are antibodies in breast milk. If you are breastfeeding, this will also provide some immunity to your newborn. It’s hard to know precisely how much, but there will be some. If you are pregnant, CHEO recommends you get vaccinated and boosted. |
Care at CHEO
Where can I take my child to be seen be a physician in person? |
| If you feel your child needs to be seen and assessed by a physician, there are some good options. First, arrange to be seen by your family physician. Second, you can book an appointment at the Kids Come First Care Clinic at Brewer Park Arena - 151 Brewer Way, Ottawa, or the East Ottawa Kids COVID Care Clinic - 4289 Innes Road, Orléans. And, if it’s urgent, you can bring your child to the CHEO Emergency Department — see Does your child or youth need emergency care? |
If I’m worried about my baby having COVID, when should I bring my child to the Emergency Department? |
| If possible, talk to your family doctor first. Also, see Does your child or youth need emergency care? We are still learning about COVID-19 in babies and infants. We see a variety of symptoms that are often very different from one child to the next. As you would have done before this pandemic, trust your parenting experience — you know your baby best. If your baby doesn’t seem right or you are not comfortable with their current health (maybe they are overly tired or are not eating well) then bring them to the CHEO Emergency Department (ED). If you would have brought your baby to the ED before COVID, then bring them now too. For babies under one month, if they have a fever they should be seen in person. If they are under three months, have a fever, and seem unwell, they would be seen in person. |
Should I be worried about safety at CHEO? |
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CHEO is safe. If your child needs in-person care, come to CHEO (either to your appointment or to the Emergency Department). Our top priority is always safety. Unlike many locations in the community, CHEO has multiple layers of safety in place. We screen everyone coming onsite for symptoms, exposure and travel. We require universal masking at CHEO. All ventilation at CHEO meets or exceeds the safe requirements for hospitals in Ontario. Where in-person care is needed, we safely provide it. And, where possible, we offer virtual care options. |
Can we wear KN95 or other masks to our CHEO appointment? |
| Yes! You're welcome to wear a personal N95, KN95 or other mask, and we'll give you a new, high quality medical-grade mask to put on top as our screeners do not have the capacity to quality check everyone’s mask for tears, saturation and fit. The most important aspect of any mask you wear is the FIT. |
Why is CHEO ramping down non-urgent services? |
| The province has ordered hospitals to temporarily delay non-urgent care in order to ensure there is capacity to deal with the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic being driven by the Omicron variant. Also, with the spread of Omicron in the community, there are significant numbers of CHEO staff and medical staff who are not able to come onsite to provide care. We need to ensure we have enough staff on hand to guarantee urgent care to those who need it. This is a priority. |
My child’s appointment has been temporarily delayed. What should I do? |
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CHEO clinicians has reviewed all appointments and only postponed those where this is no risk to the patient’s safety. You know your child best, though, and if you are concerned and feel your child’s appointment should not be postponed, contact your CHEO health-care team. They will reassess your child’s situation and, if needed, will arrange care. Also, we are ensuring virtual care is widely available and it may be possible for your child to be seen virtually and assessed. |
Does CHEO still offer mental health services for non-emergencies, or are you aware of any forthcoming new capacity for mental health treatment of children? |
| We are still accepting referrals. Right now in our region, no single program has capacity to meet demand but, together, regional programs are providing mental health care where it is needed. Access mental health care through 1Call1Click.ca, and the Youth Services Bureau’s 24/7 crisis line at 613-260-2360 or 1-877-377-7775 (toll free for Eastern Ontario). |
What is CHEO doing to mitigate airborne spread of COVID in the hospitals? Are staff wearing respirator masks now as recommended by Dr. Tam? |
| All staff and medical staff wear the appropriate PPE for whatever clinical setting they are in. This includes fit-tested, sealed N95 respirators when treating patients with COVID or those who we think might have it. All ventilation at CHEO meets or exceeded the requirements of hospitals in Ontario. |
Instead of postponing my child or youth's appointment, can it be done virtually instead? |
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For families whose appointments are being temporarily postponed, when our team calls or emails you to re-book that is a great time to mention if you have a preference for virtual or in-person care. If your child or youth's appointment is urgent or emergent (i.e. not being postponed), you can contact our Scheduling Hub to request a change to a scheduled appointment. |
My child or youth needs to be seen in-person, for cold and flu symptoms. My doctor’s office will only see us if my child or youth has proof of a negative COVID test. Where can we go? |
| If you feel your child needs to be seen and assessed by a physician, there are some good options. First, arrange to be seen by your family physician. Second, you can book an appointment at the Kids Come First Care Clinic at Brewer Park Arena - 151 Brewer Way, Ottawa, or the East Ottawa Kids COVID Care Clinic - 4289 Innes Road, Orléans. And, if it’s urgent, you can bring your child to the CHEO Emergency Department. |
General COVID-19 info
What data is there on long COVID in kids? |
| We are still learning about long-COVID-19. In children it appears to be less common. About 1 – 2% seem to get long-COVID. The symptoms vary. We treat with a multi-disciplinary approach involving all departments that can help because in long-COVID, it’s no longer about the infection, it’s about ensuring recovery. |
Is it safe for kids to play outside with other kids? |
| Yes. Get outside as much as you can. Ventilation outside is phenomenal. But, with lots of close contact, COVID-19 can transmit, even outdoors. If your kids are the kind who play close with others, have them were masks. If they can stay apart while playing outdoors, it’s OK to go with no mask. |
Are there any special precautions I should take to safeguard my newborn? |
| There has been an uptick in COVID-19 in newborns and infants. We do not know if this is because infants are at increased risk with new variants or if this is simply a case of aggressive spread in the community causing more infections in newborns and infants. The best advice is, for now, limit the number of people in contact with your baby. Make sure everyone around the baby is wearing a well-fitted mask and make sure everyone in the household is fully vaccinated, including boosters. |
What are the statistics on COVID-19 infection in children? |
| Most of the kids at CHEO who are COVID-19 positive are not admitted because of COVID; they are admitted for some other condition which requires treatment and they happen to have COVID-19 in addition. Some children have been admitted for COVID-19, almost all for very short stays. Also, have seen an increase of babies admitted whose moms were not vaccinated. Babies and pregnant mom’s have lower immunity. If you are pregnant, get vaccinated. |
What has been done to ensure that CHEO home care staff are as safe as possible? |
| All of the home care agency staff who provide care to children and youth at home or school are required to be vaccinated for COVID-19. They also must complete a daily screen and have the PPE they need to reduce risk and make care safer in your home or school. The same layers of protection we deploy at CHEO are used when we visit your home. Same layers are we have at CHEO we have in your home. |
Looking for more information?
Here are some helpful websites to find more information on COVID-19: