Proportionate Risk-Based Approach to Balance Recovery Priorities and Ongoing COVID-19 Response Activities (Motion #26-22)

Moved by Kirwan – Noland

Approved by Board of Health for Public Health Sudbury & Districts, September 15, 2022

WHEREAS the initial response in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic required Public Health Sudbury & Districts (Public Health) to stop or radically reduce many of its public health programs and services, resulting in a growing backlog of public health programs and services and unmet needs in the communities served by the Board; and

WHEREAS in February 2022, the Board of Health approved Public Health’s plan to get back on track by addressing the recovery priorities outlined in its Recovery Plan, Public Health Sudbury & Districts and the COVID-19 pandemic: From risk to recovery and resilience; and

WHEREAS as demonstrated through Public Health’s Recovery Plan Progress Report: March to August 2022, progress to advance our identified recovery priorities through key initiatives has been made, however, additional backlogs and unmet community needs remain; and

WHEREAS the Board of Health faces the challenge of appropriately (re)allocating finite human and financial resources to balance the health risks associated with the ongoing pandemic with the health risks associated with the growing backlog of public health programs and services and unmet community needs; and

WHEREAS the COVID-19 vaccine surge scenarios provided by the provincial government for fall planning purposes will require significant increases to local vaccination capacity; and

WHEREAS without substantial increases in local vaccination capacity of other providers (e.g., pharmacy, primary care, acute care), Public Health staff will again need to be redeployed in large numbers to meet the fall vaccine surge scenario, stalling our work on the community-focused recovery priorities and our ability to mitigate non-COVID-19 health risks;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Health for Public Health Sudbury & Districts reaffirm its commitment to using a risk-based approach to ensure a proportionate response to COVID-19 while balancing its response to the recovery priorities outlined in its Recovery Plan.

CARRIED

This item was last modified on September 21, 2022