Your Weekly COVID-19 Update

May 12, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccine Second Dose Update

Given the increasing and more stable supply of the COVID-19 vaccine, the provincial government has announced that health care workers previously classified in the "highest priority" grouping, as per the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) guidance are now eligible to receive their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine earlier than the extended 16-week interval. These are the health-care workers with the highest risk – they provide direct, in-person care to patients with the highest likelihood of being COVID-19 positive, or work in environments with high exposure to these patients.

Dentists and their teams were previously classified in the "very high priority" grouping for their first dose. We understand you may have questions concerning your second dose appointment and if it will also be rescheduled to an earlier time. The ODA has been raising this issue directly with the MOH over the past few weeks. The MOH is considering revisiting the second-dose timeline for other high-priority groups, including dentists and their teams. We understand how important full vaccination is and will continue to raise this with the MOH. We will update you on any developments.

Paid Infectious Disease Emergency Leave and the WSIB

As reported in last week’s bulletin, the Employment Standards Act has been amended to require employers to provide employees with up to three (3) days of paid infectious disease emergency leave for reasons related to COVID-19. We have confirmed with the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development that there will be no requirement for an employer to be registered with the Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) to be considered eligible and receive reimbursement.

The Ontario COVID-19 Worker Income Protection Benefit and paid infectious disease emergency leave is available to all employers. We will continue to update members after more details are released by the government, including how to apply for reimbursement through the WSIB.

Updated Resource! Ministry of Labour Inspection Module

In March 2021, the province hired 100 additional Health and Safety Inspectors to support business inspection blitzes during COVID-19. In response to this, we’ve updated our Inspection Module 4: Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development Inspections and Investigations to include more COVID-19-specific safety protocol information. Download it here.

This module is the fourth in a series of inspection modules that are designed to help you understand and prepare for possible inspections by different authorities. This and our other inspection modules can be found on the ODA member website. We strongly advise that all members and their staff be prepared to demonstrate familiarity with the Pandemic Recovery Toolkit 6.0 and Inspection Module 4.

Audits of Small-Business Support Programs

We advise members to ensure thorough and accurate documentation of your eligibility requirements for any provincial and federal small business support programs you have accessed during the course of the pandemic.

There were a high number of applications submitted and funds under these programs were quickly distributed to businesses in need. We are aware of instances where funding was approved for subsidies that dentists are not eligible for, such the Ontario Small Business Support Grant (OSBSG).

There are now reports that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is reviewing and auditing applications to these programs to verify eligibility; for example, they’ve launched a Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Audit Program. The CRA may request copies of information you used in your applications. Ontario appears to be performing similar audits of its support programs, including the OSBSG.

If you are unsure about your eligibility for programs you have applied for or have questions on how to properly document that you met eligibility criteria, we encourage you to speak with your accountant or tax professional.

Have You Filled Out Our Member Survey?

We launched our sixth Pandemic Recovery survey on Monday. Thank you to the members who have already completed it. We need more of your voices! Your input informs us where we should continue to focus our efforts. Your feedback in the last survey successfully guided the ODA to seek priority access to the vaccine for dentists and their teams.

This time we need information like: How sustainable is your practice at the current rate of patient demand? What are your opinions on using antigen point-of-care (rapid) tests? Would you want to continue to use teledentistry?

The survey was sent on Monday, May 10. Check your email inbox; if you didn’t receive it or cannot find it, contact us at survey@oda.ca and we’ll send you the link. The survey closes on May 19.

This Week’s PPE Offers

Get buy-more-save-more offers, product discounts and Antigen point-of-care testing (POCT) kits on the member website.

Other Offers
ODA Memberperks, from Venngo Inc., gives you access to more than 3,000 discounts on everyday items and services, including those for home and office. The Memberperks page now includes a link to their latest offers. Before you shop or order from an online retailer, see how much you can save with Memberperks.

Go to the Memberperks page to learn more or sign up.