One of the deceased was in his 60s and lived in Nova Scotia Health’s Eastern Zone; the second was in his 70s and lived in the Northern Zone; the third was in his 80s and lived in the Central Zone.
Through the pandemic, 115 Nova Scotians have died from COVID-19.
There are now 59 people in hospital who were admitted because of COVID symptoms, two of whom are in ICU. (The hospitalized number does not include those who were admitted to hospital for other reasons but tested positive for COVID during the admissions screening, nor those who contracted COVID in the hospital outbreaks listed below.) The 59 hospitalized range in age from 31 to 100 years old, and the average age is 69.
The vaccination status of the hospitalized is: • 7 (11.9%) have had a third dose • 35 (59.3%) have had two doses but not three • 2 (3.4%) have had one dose • 15 (25.4%) are unvaccinated Note that only about 10% of the population is unvaccinated.
Additionally, the province announced 816 new cases of COVID-19 today. The new cases are people who received a positive PCR test result from a Nova Scotia Health lab; this does not include people who tested positive using a take-home rapid (antigen) test.
By Nova Scotia Health zone, the new cases break down as: • 526 Central • 110 Eastern • 110 Western • 70 Northern
Hospital outbreaks
There are new hospital outbreaks at: • Northside General Hospital • Aberdeen Hospital • Abbie Lane There are fewer than five patients testing positive at each site.
There are also new cases in five ongoing hospital outbreaks: • Victoria General (one ward) — two new patients, for a total of fewer than 10 • Victoria General (another ward) — two new patients, for a total of fewer than 10 • New Waterford Consolidated — two new patients, for a total of 13 • Northside General — two new patients, for a total of fewer than 10 • Halifax Infirmary — one new patient, for a total of 17
There are evidently staffing problems at the hospitals, as today there were 16 ambulances waiting outside the QE2 and another five lined up outside Dartmouth General.
Vaccination
Over the last three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), 13,258 doses of vaccine were administered. For reasons I can’t explain, for the first time in six months the numbers of first, second, and third doses are not reported, albeit the percentages are.
According to the Department of Health, by end of day yesterday, 90.1% of the entire population have received at least one dose of vaccine: • 7.2% with one dose only • 63.0% with two doses but not three • 19.9% with three doses
Appointments for boosters are now open to people 30 and over for whom 168 days have passed since their second shot.
Vaccination appointments for people 5 years of age and older can be booked here.
People in rural areas who need transportation to a vaccination appointment should contact Rural Rides, which will get you there and back home for just $5. You need to book the ride 24 hours ahead of time.
There are many drop-in Pfizer vaccine clinics scheduled, starting next week, several for kids five years old and older.
Additionally, the province has scheduled several appointment-based vaccination clinics for booster shots, as follows:
New community clinics will offer vaccine by appointment starting:
Thursday, January 6, at the Halifax Forum
Monday, January 10, at the Acadia Festival Theatre in Wolfville
Monday, January 17, at Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth
Monday, January 24, at the Nova Scotia Community College campus in Truro.
Some existing COVID-19 testing centres will also offer vaccine by appointment. The following centres will start vaccinations on Monday, January 10:
Rath Eastlink Community Centre, Truro
Pictou County Assessment Centre, New Glasgow
Cumberland County Assessment Centre, Amherst
Antigonish Market Square, Antigonish
Grand Lake Road Fire Hall, Sydney
Berwick Fire Hall, Berwick
Mariners Centre, Yarmouth.
The Digby Station testing centre will offer vaccine by appointment starting Monday, January 24.
Testing
Yesterday, Nova Scotia Health labs completed 4,063 PCR tests, with a positivity rate of 20.1%.
The testing protocols have changed. Now, if you test positive with a rapid (antigen) test, you no longer will follow that up with a PCR test. Instead, you are assumed to definitely have COVID, and you and your household are to self-isolate as required.
But take-home rapid testing kits are no longer widely available.
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.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
