Updates on vaccines, treatments and more OCFP
Dear Colleagues, My message today, fittingly, comes to you on World Family Doctor Day – a day to celebrate the vital role of family doctors and the contributions they make every day to their p...

Dear Colleagues, My message today, fittingly, comes to you on World Family Doctor Day – a day to celebrate the vital role of family doctors and the contributions they make every day to their p...
Dear Colleagues, I’ll start by acknowledging how you, as family doctors across the province, have stepped up to support timely and appropriate Paxlovid prescribing, and in so doing have widen...
Toronto, April 28, 2022 – Following today’s 2022 Ontario Budget, the Ontario College of Family Physicians wants to stress, once again, the need to invest in Ontario’s family doctors...
Dear Colleagues, Given continued rise in COVID cases, we recognize the need for vigilance against COVID and welcomed the announcement yesterday that family physicians can now prescribe Paxlovid and i...
Dear Colleagues, We’re excited to share that the OCFP’s public advocacy campaign is officially underway! In the lead up to the provincial election on June 2, you’ll see us in the me...
The Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) recognizes the worrying rise in BA.2 sub-variant cases of COVID-19 in Ontario. Wastewater testing has provided evidence that the spread of this variant...
March 17, 2022 -- Today’s numbers from the Ontario Science Advisory Table are a reminder that COVID-19 is very much still with us. They also stress the importance of continuing to be diligent a...
Dear Colleagues, I’m happy to see that we are starting to round the corner on winter in Ontario. For me there is always hope and optimism as we head into spring. I know many of you may be get...
Dear Colleagues, It has been another intense period for us and our patients. Yet, although we continue to face uncertainties and negative fallout from the pandemic, we also collectively continue to ...
The OCFP's 2022 Family Medicine Summit opening keynote session featured OCFP CEO Kimberly Moran and a panel of family physician leaders discussing advocacy work in light of the upcoming provincial el...
Dear Colleagues, I know first-hand as a family physician practising in Ottawa that it has been an incredibly challenging week; and it is likely now these protests will spread to other regions. I have...
January 19, 2022 (TORONTO) – As many struggle with information overload about the quickly changing COVID-19 landscape, a new digital tool launched by family doctors aims to help Ontarians cut t...
Dear Colleagues, It has been a tumultuous few weeks with the surge of COVID cases. I know many of us are dealing with ongoing and exacerbated pandemic stresses – trying to make sense of new gui...
Dear Colleagues, The arrival of 2022 brings a mix of emotions. On the one hand, I hope you have had time to connect with the people and activities that bring you joy. At the same time, with COVID ca...
As you know rapidly rising cases of Omicron will have both individual and system-wide implications over these next 4-8 weeks. Many of you are supporting local COVID vaccination, testing and assessmen...
Dec. 17, 2021 – Ontario has called on the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) and family doctors to help get more Ontarians vaccinated. Family physicians across the province are steppin...
Dear Colleagues, As you know, we have entered a new and precarious phase of the pandemic. With COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant surging, Dr. Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Officer of Health (C...
Dear Colleagues, With vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 starting, I feel we are taking a hopeful step toward a return to a more normal life. Along with the optimism brought by this good news, I h...
November 19, 2021 The Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) welcomes Health Canada’s approval today of the first COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old. As our patients’ m...
Dear members, Thank you for such a warm welcome! I am honoured to join the great team at the OCFP and to continue to support the tremendous work of family physicians across the province. You are th...
October 19, 2021 The Honourable Doug Ford Premier of Ontario Legislative Building, Queen’s Park Toronto, ON M7A 1A1 Dear Premier, On behalf of the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OC...
Dear Colleagues, It has been a while since we’ve been in touch and as a result my message is longer than usual. So feel free to grab a coffee for this longer read! We have lots of helpful upda...
On behalf of the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) Board of Directors, I am delighted to announce Kim Moran as our organization’s new CEO, effective November 15, 2021.
On the inaugural National Truth and Reconciliation Day being recognized today across Canada, the Primary Care Collaborative values the opportunity and responsibility to acknowledge some of the action...
September 29, 2021 (TORONTO) – As children across the province are returning to school, the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) is reinforcing the need to increase vaccine confidence am...
Dear Colleagues, I hope that the summer has been treating you well. I've been grateful for the time I've had to be away to recharge and I hope that you have had this opportunity as well – a b...
Dear Colleagues, Those of you who work in patient enrolment models will have received a memo yesterday from Ontario Health (OH) about accessing aggregate primary care vaccination reports of your ros...
The OCFP was pleased to provide feedback to the Ministry of Health on Proposed Regulations for Home and Community Care. We are pleased to see the list of services has been expanded to include those ...
Dear Colleagues, It's encouraging to see vaccination rates increasing and COVID rates continuing to decline, and with this an ability to increase in-person visits and start to exhale a bit to consid...
Dear Colleagues, These last few weeks have been a time of national and personal grieving. We were deeply saddened by the discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential s...
The Ontario College of Family Physicians Board of Directors will be recruiting its next CEO following the resignation of Ms. Leanne Clarke, effective July 30, 2021. Leanne first joined the OCFP in 20...
It is a difficult time in our country. In 2020, a pandemic resulting from a virus changed so many aspects of our personal and professional lives. And yet a more insidious social and public health thr...
TORONTO – June 2, 2021 -- The Primary Care Collaborative (“PCC”) congratulates Dr. Kieran Moore on his official appointment as Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, effec...
Colleagues, Yesterday, the Chief Medical Officer of Health provided information about the second dose for individuals who received a first dose of AstraZeneca (AZ)/ COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccine. Ple...
Dear Colleagues, I am sure you have heard yesterday’s announcement on the pause on further use of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine as a first dose. The Ontario Ministry of Health announced that th...
The OCFP shared comments and recommendations on CPSO’s proposed policy “Planning for and Providing Quality End-of-Life Care”.
The OCFP shared feedback on the CPSO’s proposed policy for medical assistance in dying.
Dear Colleagues, We are providing this update given the recent changes in Phase 2 Ministry guidance, in particular moving pregnancy from “at risk” to “highest priority” healt...
Dear Colleagues, We are in a devastating phase of the pandemic in Ontario, particularly so in our hardest hit communities, and it comes at a time when we collectively are already weary. My focus in ...
Dear Colleagues, I don’t have to tell any of you working on the frontlines of care what Ontario is facing. Given the extreme pressure on hospital ICUs and critical care beds, Ontario Health ha...
The Primary Care Collaborative welcomes the Ontario Government’s announcement of new provincial measures to stop the alarming spread of COVID-19. While the vaccine rollout continues across the ...
TORONTO – April 6, 2021 – Amid an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the Primary Care Collaborative shares concerns expressed by the Ontario Hospital Association, Ontar...
Dear Colleagues, We know family doctors want to play a critical role in supporting the vaccine rollout. It’s clear our patients want us involved too, based on this public opinion survey we di...
TORONTO, March 29, 2021 - During COVID-19, we see again and again across Ontario that communities – from people living in large urban centres to smaller cities to towns and rural areas – ...
March 23, 2021 (TORONTO) – The Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) is calling for the increased involvement of Ontario’s family doctors in vaccination efforts. The call comes afte...
The OCFP is encouraged by the Government of Ontario’s announcement today to expand the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. However, we know that many options beyond pharmacy and mass vaccination sites wi...
Colleagues, The past week has been notable for the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccines in several primary care offices across six Public Health Units (PHU). I’ve been following the progress a...
Dear Colleagues, You may well be aware of the information released yesterday by retired general Rick Hillier, head of Ontario's Vaccine Distribution Task Force. We were pleased to see the Ministry e...
Dear Colleagues, Following my message from last week and our information posted this past weekend, we promised to update you on any new developments. We met Tuesday with General Hillier, together ...
Dear Colleagues, Over the weekend, we received updates from the Ministry of Health about the vaccination rollout and are sharing a summary of these updates with you. Thankfully, more doses of the...
COVID-19 has changed our daily lives in ways big and small. But it hasn’t changed everything. Our relationship with our family physician or nurse practitioner is still a relationship of trust...
Dear Colleagues, The landscape continues to change almost daily as it relates to COVID-19. Here are the latest updates that we have about phase 2 of the vaccine rollout, new resources, and our work ...
Dear Colleagues, I have heard from many of you about your frustrations and disappointment with the vaccine rollout. There has been confusion and inconsistencies in the distribution of the vaccines a...
Dear Colleagues, As you are aware, the COVID-19 response is changing rapidly and there is a lack of clarity on many aspects of the vaccine distribution. We are advocating strongly for clarity around...
Dear Colleagues, Happy New Year and to a healthier 2021 for everyone. I am writing with a request as it relates to primary care’s role in Phase 1 of Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccination rollou...
Dear Colleagues, As we approach the New Year, I am hopeful about the COVID-19 vaccines and a better 2021 for everyone. The OCFP is continuing to advocate, in partnership with other associations*, fo...
Colleagues, You are likely aware of the recent COVID-19 vaccine developments, including approval of the Pfizer vaccine, the release of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) COVID-19 Immu...
Dear Colleagues, My newsletter starts with an apology to members. Along with other professional associations and family physicians, I participated in drafting a letter to be sent to the Ministry of ...
The Ontario College of Family Physicians welcomes today’s announcement by the Government of Ontario to further tighten public health measures in the face of the current pandemic. Ongoing attent...
Dear Colleagues, I want to start by acknowledging the hard work you are doing. From large centres, like Markham, Scarborough, Ottawa and Toronto, to rural settings, like Red Lake, Thunder Bay and Fo...