Ontario’s chief medical officer is raising concerns that, at the provincial level, young people are lagging other age groups in getting vaccinated.
But Waterloo region’s numbers show young people locally are outpacing other areas.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Dr. Kieran Moore raised concerns that over the last three months, 96 per cent of people between the ages of 19 and 29 who were infected with COVID-19 weren’t vaccinated against the virus.
“That age group is coming down with a higher rate of disease than other age groups across Ontario,” Moore said.
In Waterloo region, 20 to 29-year-olds make up a quarter of all local cases. Since July 1, the region has reported 494 cases of COVID-19, 52 per cent of which were in people under the age of 40.
This graph shows the number of COVID-19 cases by age as of July 14. (Region of Waterloo Public Health)
When it comes to vaccinations, Public Health Ontario data shows 65.7 per cent of youth between 12 and 17 years of age have their first dose and 14.7 per cent have two doses.
In Waterloo region, those numbers are 66.17 per cent have first dose and 27.31 per cent have two doses.
The caveat to the Public Health Ontario numbers is that it only goes to July 7, lagging a week behind the region’s numbers, which are as of Wednesday.
When looking at other age groups:
18 to 29-year-olds: Provincially, 67.8 per cent have one dose, 31.2 per cent have two doses. In Waterloo region, 82.47 per cent have one dose, 43.78 per cent have two doses.
30 to 39-year-olds: Provincially, 70.7 per cent have one dose, 37.3 per cent have two doses. In Waterloo region, 78.45 per cent have one dose and 48.09 per cent have two doses.
40 to 49-year-olds: Provincially, 76.3 per cent have one dose, 44 per cent have two doses. In Waterloo region, 77.67 per cent have one dose, 53.24 per cent have two doses.
Overall in the region, the number of adults who have received the first dose of the vaccine hit 81.06 per cent on Wednesday.
As well, 56.07 per cent of adults have received two doses, a significant jump since Friday, when 48 per cent of adults had a second dose.
This graph shows the percentage of people by age group who have received first doses (light blue bar) and second doses (dark blue bar) of the COVID-19 vaccine in Waterloo region. This graph was taken from the region’s website on July 14. (Region of Waterloo Public Health)
22 new cases
Region of Waterloo Public Health reported 22 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. There were no new deaths reported.
There were 262 active cases in the region. As well, 25 people were in the region’s three hospitals and 15 of those people were in the intensive care unit, which remained unchanged from the previous day.
There were 16 active outbreaks in the region, half of which were in workplaces. There were also:
Three in long-term care and retirement homes.
Two in hospitals.
Two in congregate settings.
One at a child-care centre or summer camp.
Family doctors to make calls
Dr. Sharon Bal, a family physician in Cambridge, says people in the region who are not yet vaccinated against COVID-19 can expect to hear from their family doctor in the coming weeks.
Bal says local doctors began receiving updates on patients who have been vaccinated in mid-May. By the end of July, it’s expected doctors will have a list of people who have not received it.
Dr. Sharon Bal is a family physician in Cambridge and the primary care physician lead for the Region of Waterloo’s vaccine rollout task force. (Zelia Bester/@SharonBalMD/Twitter)
“We finally have a line of sight of who they are,” she said. “That gives us an opportunity to really target outreach to them.”
She says the goal of local doctors will be to answer any lingering questions or address concerns people may have about the vaccine.
She says it’s similar work to what doctors do to help people understand other procedures or inoculations, such as the flu shot and infant vaccinations.
Bal has worked at the drive-thru and hockey hub vaccination clinics and said there’s often a number of reasons people have not received the vaccine yet that doesn’t include hesitancy. Often, it’s an accessibility issue and she says this is where neighbours, family and friends can help each other.
“I have seen many younger folks either help their elderly neighbours get registered or actually drive them to an appointment,” she said. “It’s an example of how this is a community effort. We’re only going to get out of this as a community.”
Listen to the full interview with Dr. Sharon Bal:
The Morning Edition – K-W6:35Not vaccinated? Expect a call from your family physician in the coming weeks, says Cambridge doctor
Cambridge’s Dr. Sharon Bal says people who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19 can expect to hear from their family doctor in the coming weeks. She also discusses the growing number of concerns family doctors are facing, including people waiting to seek medical treatment and a growing number of mental health and disability calls. 6:35
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
