COVID-19 Responses Of Kids Come First Partners and Members

19 August 2021

Since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, we have seen tremendous efforts across all sectors of the health-care system. Understanding that kids have been bearing the brunt of this pandemic, the Kids Come First Health Team has been innovating to respond to the needs of children, youth, their families, and providers.

Together we have:

• Offered specialized COVID-19 vaccination clinics for youth with medical complexities and their families
• Launched a unique Child and Youth Protection Clinic for high-risk children who do not have primary care providers within their foster homes
• Offered pediatric expertise through partnerships with Ottawa Public Health on a mass vaccination campaign for youth 12-17 and their families, resulting in leading vaccination rates for this age group through the summer.
• Created and delivered a PPE Coaching program to over 200 participants from 30 different organizations in the congregate care setting and created a toolbox for implementation provincially
• Set up immunization clinics for scheduled vaccinations of babies and toddlers of newcomers to Canada who cannot obtain their immunizations through their family physician or a community pediatrician due to the pandemic. We served nearly 300 families.
• Opened a Kids Come First COVID-19 Care Clinic within a COVID-19 testing centre for children and youth to receive in-person physician assessments due to limitations in the context of pandemic
• Created a Virtual Back-to-School Backpack to support kids, parents, school boards, teachers and other health-care professionals with their questions and concerns about returning to school during COVID-19
• Set up an isolation centre for vulnerable youth, ages 16-21, who have tested positive, or may have COVID, to provide them with a safe space to self-isolate, recover or await test results

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