The people in our KFL&A community have given an extraordinary effort to keep COVID-19 from spreading and the KFL&A Board of Health and Dr. Kieran Moore want to express our deepest appreciation to everyone involved in this great effort. For all of us—staying home, shifting social visits to virtual visits, screening daily and getting tested if having any symptoms—our current situation has also meant considerable sacrifice. We also recognize the increased hardship public health measures have caused many people and businesses, as well as the increased burden on our essential workers. We are writing to thank you, all the people in our community.
We are also writing this letter to ask that you remain vigilant and committed in this effort to keep people in our community healthy and safe. We know it is difficult. Our goal is to get us safely through this winter, and we are truly excited by the recent science around safe and effective vaccines: this is our light at the end of the tunnel.
Our COVID-19 Assessment Centres are doing an amazing job. We have the utmost admiration for the courage, energy and diligence of the frontline staff working there. We are immensely grateful for the devotion of key workers supporting our most vulnerable residents in long term care and retirement settings, and for the steadfastness of our healthcare and essential workers, we thank you. We extend huge gratitude to the people in our laboratories who are working around the clock to turn test results out as quickly as possible, an effort that enables workers to continue working, relatives to visit loved ones, students to continue learning at school, and providing protection for those that need it most. People and organizations across the community have come together to deliver vitally needed help for the most vulnerable: spontaneous groups, businesses, faith groups and locally based communications people, we thank you.
Our School Boards, principals, teachers, and students have also done an amazing job at being devoted to keeping their environment safe. We want to thank all of you for embracing the required changes while keeping your commitments to safety, teaching, and learning of the next generation.
The community’s response in getting tested—across all age groups and businesses when required—has been remarkable! Thank you. It is imperative we continue, anytime this aggressive, nasty virus tries to come back into our community, that we work together to limit its spread. We are a kind and caring community.
All of us want to remember this challenging moment in history as one where we all put in our best effort to support each other and to protect our family, friends and people in our community who experience vulnerabilities.
We have heard from government sources that we may have a safe and effective vaccine available to us in the spring of 2021. That is not that far off. We will do our best to distribute it fairly and equitably following the principles outlined by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), and their direction to begin by providing vaccination to the highest risk people in our community. Over time, once we get higher and higher vaccination rates and higher protection to vulnerable people in the community, we will immunize the lower risk members of our community, if they’d like to have it. Building immunity through immunization will decrease the number of outbreaks. Locally, we will work continuously with all our health care partners to monitor the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
Nobody could have predicted the huge challenges the world is currently living through. This pandemic is without precedent in living memory. We ask that all of us stay strong, be kind and caring to one another through this winter. Shop local, support local and stay local. We are all in this together and the interdependence we have upon one another has been brought sharply into focus. Our community’s fate rests in our hands (our frequently washed hands). Thank you for coming together to prove what a fantastic community we share.
-Dr. Kieran Moore,
Medical Officer of Health for KFLA Public Health