Vaccination is “race against time” as variants are unpredictable: Region

March 18, 2021 · 0 Comments

We’re in a “race against time” rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations as new variants of concern are unpredictable, according to York Region Public Health.

On Monday, the Province launched its new Provincial booking system for vaccines with a continued focus on inoculating residents born in 1941 or earlier. The launch of the new system coincided with the release of more than 19,000 vaccination appointments by York Region Public Health, with more appointments expected to roll out as various inoculations continue to arrive.

More than 60 per cent of residents in the 80+ priority group had received their first doses by the start of the week, with almost 70 per cent of health care workers in the highest and very high priority groups receiving theirs.

“These are incredible milestones to celebrate,” said Dr. Fareen Karachiwalla, York Region’s Associate Medical Officer of Health. “The more we protect the most vulnerable and those at highest risk of COVID-19, the more lives we can save and sickness and grief we can prevent.”

York Region Public Health has been providing vaccinations to eligible residents through six clinics across the community, including one added this week at Vaughan’s Maple Community Centre.

“To ensure appointments are available to everyone who is eligible, we really encourage people to book just one appointment per person and cancel any appointments that you do not intend to use,” said Dr. Karachiwalla. “Looking ahead, we do plan to complete vaccinations for those in the first phase of the priority vaccination distribution plan for the Province and move to the next age and priority groups as quickly as possible. We know you are anxious and eager to get the vaccine, and for that we are glad, but we continue to ask people waiting to be patient. We are committed to ensuring that everyone who wants to receive the vaccine will have the opportunity and we will openly communicate when it is your turn.”

York Region is currently aligning its rollout plan to the Ministry of Health’s decision to increase the time between the first and second doses of all available COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada for up to 16 weeks. According to Dr. Karachiwalla, the change allows more people to get their first doses.

“The first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine has been shown to give about 92 per cent protection after two weeks of getting the dose, which is a very high rate of effectiveness,” she said. “After the second dose, the protection is pushed up further to 94 or 95 per cent and that protection is expected to last for many more months. The whole point of the second dose is to boost and lengthen how long you are protected for.

“With rates of COVID-19, including the new variants of concern being as unpredictable as they are, and without an unlimited supply of vaccines for every single person to have two doses right away on schedule, it is a race against time. The quicker we can get the most number of our residents vaccinated in the short term, even with one dose, the better it is for everybody. More lives can be saved and we can have a better shot of revitalizing and healing our communities before more COVID-19 potentially takes hold. We are actively looking to reschedule second dose appointments impacted by this change, but it will take us some time, so please do continue to be patient with us.

PROVINCIAL BOOKING SYSTEM

Although the Province has rolled out a new Ontario-wide vaccination system, not all York Region clinics made the transition to the new platform, instead continuing the rollout locally.

At press time, five of six clinics were expected to stick with the local system into this week at York.ca/covid-19vaccine. The move to keep the majority of local clinics temporarily on the Region’s platform was described as an “operational decision.”

Nevertheless, the new Provincial Booking platform and customer service desk was launched at 8 a.m. on March 15 for people ages 80 and up.

“We are making steady progress in the execution of our vaccine distribution plan, and the launching of the online booking system is another major milestone,” said Premier Doug Ford in a statement. “In this phase of our plan we are still offering vaccines to our most vulnerable, so I encourage everyone aged 80 and older to use the portal to book an appointment. For everyone else, please be patient, as we get more supply, the vaccine will be offered to more people.”

Added Health Minister and Newmarket-Aurora MPP Christine Elliott: “The provincial booking system will be critical in supporting the next phase of Ontario’s vaccine rollout as more vaccines become available. We know everyone is eager to receive the vaccine, and as we continue to build capacity, we are making it easier and more convenient for individuals to book and receive the vaccine as quickly as possible.”

For more, visit Ontario.ca/bookvaccine. Here, residents will be guided to make an appointment through the provincial booking system, or their local public health unit if there is a local public health unit booking system or call centre in place. When booking an appointment, individuals will be asked for information from their green Ontario health card, birth date, postal code and email address and/or phone number. At the time of booking, eligible individuals will schedule their first and second vaccination appointments.

Individuals who still have a red and white health card, or who require assistance with booking, can call the Provincial Vaccine Information Line number at 1-888-999-6488.

GRIM LOCAL MILESTONE

Over the last seven days, two more Aurora residents have succumbed to COVID-19.

On Wednesday, March 10, York Region Public Health reported the death of a 75-year-old male from Aurora who lost his battle at Southlake Regional Health Centre on March 7. He experienced his first symptoms on February 23, the same day as the onset of symptoms. He was the 41st resident to lose their battle with the virus.

The 42nd death, this time a 75-year-old female, which took place on Friday, March 12, was announced Sunday. The woman in question died at Southlake after seeing her first symptoms on February 17 and receiving a positive test result on March 1.

Both deaths are attributed to close contact.

Close contact and local transmission are the sources of the majority of active cases in Aurora.

Over the weekend, Aurora’s total cases of COVID-19 since the start of the global pandemic last year crossed the 1,000 threshold with 1,020 by Monday, March 15. Of these cases, 935 are now marked as recovered and 43 cases remain active.

35 of these are attributed to local transmission or close contact, 5 to institutional outbreak, and 3 to workplace cluster.

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter