9 CASES AS MORE MODERNA, PFIZER COMING NEXT WEEK
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are now safely interchangeable.
So don’t turn your back on the former if you’ve had the latter, says Dr. Charles Gardner who has heard of people doing that.
He said next week Simcoe-Muskoka is getting 20,000 more Moderna and 30,000 more Pfizer doses that will be shared to pharmacies and the health unit’s own clinics as part of a “mass immunization rollout.”
With 9 new COVID cases today in Simcoe (none in Muskoka) and almost 75 per cent of adults vaccinated at least once — the focus is now on finding that second vaccine.
Much as it was with the first dose months ago.
Pharmacies are reporting sporadic deliveries through the province and local residents are jumping at any opportunity to get injected.
Dozens and dozens from across Muskoka races to Gravenhurst Monday when word got out that there were lots of leftover vaccines available when only 100 youth aged 12-17 signed up in advance.
Health workers were able to vaccinate another 150 people who either didn’t have a second appointment or had one and opted to forgo it in favour of it yesterday.
That was a smart move, Gardner said in his weekly virtual media briefing.
He said it’s always best to get it sooner than later, even though there might be a slight advantage in efficacy of waiting the full 12 weeks.
The efficacy of MNRA vaccines like Moderna is already about 94 per cent, he said.
That particularly applies to the AstraZeneca vaccine that is now being made available by the province earlier at eight weeks.
Gardner welcomed today’s case numbers that continue the trend this week of being single digit.
They continue a nine-week downward trend that last week saw 94 cases.
That’s an 87 per cent drop from April when at the height of the third wave there were 716 cases one week.
There still remain 23 Simcoe-Muskoka residents in hospitals in and out of the region; 10 in ICUs; and 10 people under the age of 60 (6 of them in ICU).
Returning to the vaccinations, Gardner said more women than men have been vaccinated.
He cited overall vaccine numbers that included 447,700 residents who’ve had their first shot, 12 per cent with a second dose, 15 per cent of adults fully vaccinated and the 73 per cent of adults who have been injected at least once.
As well, he said nearly “half the youth” in the region have quickly been jabbed.
“That’s excellent, very fast progress.”
Those youth still un-vaccinated can still sign up through either the provincial or regional health websites as the province moves toward a safe return to school in September.
However, among adults 18+ Gardner said they are having trouble vaccinating people he described as having “greater material deprivation.”
In other words lower income people. It’s the same, he said, with people of “ethno cultural diversity.”
The goal is for 90 per cent of the eligible population to achieve herd immunity.
Meanwhile, as Ontario moved to Step 1 of its roadmap to a return to “normalcy,” Gardner said social distancing and wearing a mask when close to someone is still recommended.
Specifically indoors in public spaces and at work.
The outdoor gathering limit remains at 10 people.
And there are to be no indoor gatherings — although he said that law may soon change.
As for Step 2 of the recovery, he said there is no rush to open it up early as the province did last Friday.
Not with 15 cases of the fast-moving Delta variant in Simcoe-Muskoka over the past three weeks, which while not a dramatic increase it is a VOC he is watching.
Finally, Gardner touched on his new one-year position as chair of the province’s 34-member medical officers of health council.
While he did it for a year once before in 2007-08, he told MuskokaTODAY.com that he didn’t expect to be any more vociferous an advocate for provincial health than previous chairs.
His role he said is to “promote and champion” public health and represent the members while being a liaison with the fellow doctors in the Ontario Medical Association and acting as the council’s spokesperson.
But he didn’t think he would have any more power or specific influence with the province on final decisions.
Across Ontario, the province reported 384 cases and 12 deaths. That’s a big jump from 293-13 yesterday.
Public Health Ontario said Simcoe-Muskoka had 7 cases Wednesday and 8 Tuesday.
Today Toronto reported 54 cases (60), York 14 (15) and Peel 60 (62).
North Bay-Parry Sound jumped to 10 from 2 and Porcupine also went up to 13 from 8.
HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:
- 12,172 cases to date
- 20 new cases this week, 94 last week, which was 38% lower than the 152 the week before.
- 1 death in June, 18 in May, 25 in April, 12 in March
- 3,945 Alpha variants, 158 Gamma, 32 Beta, 15 Delta
- 676 cases await confirmation of variant
- 447,700+ vaccines have been administered in Simcoe Muskoka
- 377,300+ residents have received their first dose of vaccine, which represents over 62% of the total population.
- 73% of adults 18 years and older in Simcoe Muskoka have had at least one dose of vaccine
- 49% of youth 12 to 17 years of age have had their first vaccine dose
IN OTHER COVID NEWS …
- All efforts are being made to help 2,000 members of the Indigenous Kashechewan community on the western shore of James Bay in northern Ontario where 232 cases have been detected.
- 30 million plus Canadians have been vaccinated.
- Taj Mahal reopens in India
- 176.7 million cases to date worldwide and 3.8 million deaths
- Alberta has added a whole lotto new vaccine prize giveaways, beyond three $1 million prizes, to its “Open for Summer” lottery. They’ve adding 40 travel-related prizes from West Jet and Air Canada.
- The pandemic has not only been bad for restaurants, but also the environment, according to the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup 2020 annual report. It says litter from single-use food and drinks nearly doubled last year as takeout soared during lockdowns. Single-use wrappings jumped to 27 per cent of collections from 15.3 per cent. Cigarettes topped the list and PPE was also a significant find in beach cleanups that totalled 41,000 kilograms of shoreline waste.
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