Medical Officer of Health Dr. Natalie Bocking reports that the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit region – like so many areas – is experiencing a slight uptick in COVID-19 numbers.
Whereas Northumberland County had gone at least a couple of weeks without active cases, Dr. Bocking reported at this week's media scrum that there are now three (joining the 20 in the City of Kawartha Lakes and the two in Haliburton County).
Of the new cases reported over the last 14 days, fully half are still in the younger age ranges, with 40% of the under age 20 and 14.3% in the 30-39 group.
Holding steady is the 0.7% test positivity rate, and Dr. Bocking finds it remarkable that almost 90% of the HKPR population aged 60 and up has at least one COVID-19 vaccination.
Looking at the general population eligible for a shot (those aged 12 and over), 78.5% have at least one dose and 65.1% have both.
But with school on the horizon, Dr. Bocking would like to have seen the age group 12-17 do better than the 62.2% who currently have one vaccination, as she's hoping a significant number will have both shots by back-to-school time.
Still, she said, “overall, our numbers are quite similar to provincial numbers.”
The 78.5% of those aged 12 and over who have one shot, for example, compares to the provincial figure of 79.8%.
“I am quite pleased with this,” she said.
“If we look at the roll-out of vaccinations since it first started, we know other regions received the vaccine sooner than we did and received larger amounts.”
The five mass-vaccination clinics throughout the region are all accepting walk-ins of any age for both first and second shots. And while clinics in other jurisdictions are starting to close, she said, that's not in the cards for these five – though some kind of transitioning away from the mass-immunization model may begin within a few weeks.
To speed up immunizations, Dr. Bocking said, the decision was made last week to cancel existing second appointments in the provincial booking system that were made for Aug. 3 and beyond.
“The rationale was to get needles into arms faster,” she said.
“We currently have ample supply of vaccine, both Pfizer and Moderna, and we have many empty appointments.
“At the end of last week, 8,000 individuals had second-dose appointments booked on or after Aug. 3,” she pointed out, comparing it with the 12,000 empty appointments at the five HKPR clinics.
“We are expecting to see an increase in COVID-19 in the fall as we move indoors, so we really wanted to ensure we are providing the best community coverage we can with vaccinations sooner rather than later.”
Those affected by the move will be notified by conventional and social media as well as, in some cases, direct e-mails and phone calls.
Their options will include rebooking through the provincial system, attending a clinic on a walk-in basis, seeking out one of many pharmacies offering vaccinations and contacting their health-care provider to see if they are offering the vaccine.
Another priority population is young people hoping to attend school in person in the fall.
“This week they would need to get their first dose of vaccine in order to have received both doses of vaccine before school starts,” she said.
“I understand it hasn't been a priority for many of them for many reasons – it's summertime, it's beautiful out, we are starting to do activities we have not been able to do for some time. But looking at the fall and looking at some of the benefits of being fully vaccinated and the potential for clusters of cases at school, having two doses will serve them and the community well, as we expect to see an increase in the Delta variant come the fall.”
In the broader community, she said, the easing of restrictions does not mean the risk is gone, “especially for those who have not been vaccinated. In other jurisdictions, cases have started to rise significantly.
“Measures that are in place are there for a reason – they have been demonstrated to help protect communities from increasing cases of COVID-19.
“Until we have high enough vaccine coverage and low enough cases to ease all restrictions, be cautious and get vaccinated.”