Dr. Arlene King, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, announced the release of Seasonal Influenza 2012/ 2013: Ontario’s Blueprint for Action. This document updates the 2011/ 2012 Blueprint for Action by outlining the actions that the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Public Health Ontario and the Ministry of Labour are taking to support the health system’s response to this year’s influenza season. Every year, influenza impacts the province of Ontario. This includes impacts on our health and the capacity of our health system. Because influenza reoccurs each year, the health system has an annual opportunity to reflect on its response to the virus and to integrate lessons learned and new approaches into our actions. Many of the lessons learned from past influenza seasons – and from the 2009 influenza pandemic – are reflected in this document. The ministry is also in the process of updating the Ontario Health Plan for an Influenza Pandemic (OHPIP) to reflect best practices from the 2009 pandemic. After the release of the revised OHPIP in late fall 2012, the ministry with its partners will integrate strategies from the Seasonal Influenza Blueprint with the OHPIP to develop the Ontario Influenza Response Plan. This integrated and comprehensive response plan will include stratified, scalable response strategies that will inform the actions of the health system to all types of influenza events – including both seasonal and pandemic outbreaks. Memorandum:
