Immunocompromised families doing tricky calculus as Ontario's pandemic rules end

With masks no longer required in Ontario's schools andhospitalizations up last weekat eastern Ontario's children's hospital CHEO, immunocompromised families are trying to balance safety with social needs.

Meagan Keaney-Morgan isa parent of three childrenunder five and has an immunocompromised spouse with one lung.

They've been cautious throughout the pandemicand have decided to keep all three childrenat home now that mask mandates have lifted in most settings.

"We're really trying to protect our [five-month-old] baby because we don't want to end up at CHEOWe don't want the worst-case scenario to happen," she told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning.

"While our five-year-old is double-vaccinated and would love to return to school this week, it's just too risky."

So until all of Keaney-Morgan'schildren can be vaccinated to reduce the chance of serious illness, the lack of masking will force thefamily to make tough choices about leaving home.

They took their baby to a grocery store once before mandates were lifted, but won't again.

"It's really unfortunate that health measures are being lifted while COVIDis definitely still present and so many people are still getting sick," Keaney-Morgan said, also pointing to the predictions of a coming mini-wave.

Ottawa parents report a mix of emotions as mask mandate comes to an end

3 years ago

Duration 1:12

Some parents outside an Ottawa elementary school say its the right time to start lifting restrictions, while others say theyre hesitant to remove masks completely.

A different calculus with older children

For Dawn Pickering's family, the benefits of in-person learning are, for now, outweighing the relative safety of staying at home after two years of tough restrictions.

She and her partner havetwo older children, a 13-year-old daughter, Abby,and a nine-year-old son, Ollie,an immunocompromisedcancer and stem cell transplant survivor.

Both kidsmissed out on two fullyears of in-person learning after Ollie's diagnosis and treatment and need more social time after so much isolation, Pickering said.

"We just decided that for their mental health, if we could manage the risk of having them at school,that would be the best thing to do for them both," Pickering said.

To manage the risk, they'rekeeping a close eye on coronavirus levels in the city's wastewaterand will pivot back to online classes if they feel it's necessaryasthey did when the Omicron variantarrived in the last weeks of winter.

'Be kind' to peoplestill wearingmasks

They also feel lucky teachers and some families at their school have reached out to say they'll keep wearing masks to help keep their family safe, she said.

"People really are doing the best they can. I certainly don't expect everyone to do [it]; we're hoping that more people will," Pickering said.

"But most importantly, what I really want people to do is to be humane and kind to those who continue to mask."

WATCH |Ottawa parents report 'a mix of emotions' about masks at schools:

Pickering also said she resents the ideaimmunocompromised families are acting more out of fear than anything else.

"We try to make decisions based on the limited data that we have, and tryto be logical about it," she said.

"You're managing your risk, you're mitigating your risk, and you're making good decisions for your family, just as you always should with every aspect of child-rearing."

More CHEO COVIDhospitalizations

Admissionsof children with COVID-19 at CHEO have risen sincethe start of theOmicron wave, which matches the city-wide trend.

Ofeveryone admitted to CHEO withCOVID-19throughouttheentire pandemic, 72 per centhave been admitted since Dec. 1, 2021,CHEO spokesperson Paddy Moore wrote in an email.

COVID patients have been about10 per cent of all admissions during the Omicron wave.Only 33 per cent of them were admitted for COVID-19 as the primary reason, the others would have come for other reasons and then tested positive.

Moore said there were at most two children admitted to CHEOwith COVID-19 from March 3 to 12, but by this past weekend that hadjumped to six and seven patients. He said the hospital has averaged six such patients in the wave.

Overall, Ottawa's hospitalizations and other pandemic trends have generally stabilized in Marchat levels higher than they were before Omicron.