NO MUSKOKA CASES FRIDAY, AS HUGE VACCINE CHANGES HAPPENING

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Year 2 of the pandemic begins with no new cases in Muskoka — but 45 in Simcoe today.

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit says all of the cases for Thursday March 12 are south of the Severn River, including 1 each in Severn Township and Orillia.

The health unit’s updated website late yesterday also noted three cases previously assigned to Simcoe have now been moved to Muskoka — but they didn’t say when, where or who.

They also reported one more death in the Simcoe half of the health unit.

VACCINE NEWS …

As of tomorrow, Saturday March 13, local primary care doctors in Simcoe-Muskoka will start booking people ages 60-64 with the controversial AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine that was recommended by some anyone in that age bracket.

And while the WHO says today it’s OK — for now — to the get the AZ, the U.S. still hasn’t approved it and some countries have already stopped its use over fears of blood clots.

The health unit also says as of today:

  • A new pre-registration option is now available for eligible phase 1 groups.
  • Exception: adults 80 years of age or older (born in 1941 or earlier). You DO NOT need to pre-register. You will be able to book an appointment through the province’s online booking system expected to launch next week. Details coming soon.
  • Click here to find out if you are eligible to pre-register.
  • Anyone who is currently on the SMDHU waitlist will be booked an appointment during the week of March 10th – 16th. You DO NOT need to pre-register again.

SMDHU adds eligible groups who can pre-register include highest, very high and high priority frontline health care workers in accordance with the Ministry of Health’s Guidance on Health Care Worker Prioritization; essential caregivers of residents in long-term care and retirement homes; all Indigenous adults and their household members; and adult recipients of chronic home care.

To pre-register, or for more information about COVID-19 and the vaccine roll out visit www.smdhu.org.

The health unit says pre-registration helps them collect information about appointments “quickly and easily” as vaccine supply becomes available.

  • Once a person has pre-registered on the SMDHU website, they will be placed in the queue to receive a vaccine appointment.
  • When an appointment is available, the person will be sent an email invitation from the province with a booking code to book their appointment on the provincial booking system.
  • Note that this does not happen immediately and may take days or weeks depending on vaccine supply and demand for appointments. All appointment booking in Simcoe Muskoka will be done through the online provincial system.
  • Also note adults 80 years of age and older (born anytime in 1941 or prior) are also eligible at this time.
  • However, they cannot pre-register via SMDHU’s website.
  • They will be able to book immunization appointments directly via the online provincial booking system or by telephone contact to provincial customer service desk being launched by the province next week.
  • The details on this booking process will be communicated by the province as their booking process becomes available.

“More than 53,600 doses of vaccine have already been administered in Simcoe Muskoka, offering protection to those most vulnerable, including the residents of all of our long-term care facilities and retirement homes, as well as many health care workers, older adults, and Indigenous older adults” said Dr. Charles Gardner, SMDHU’s medical officer of health. “We are now transitioning into the final chapter of Phase 1, another important step in bringing the pandemic under control.”

Province-wide there were 1,371 cases and 18 deaths.

In Toronto there were 371 new cases, Peel 225 and York 111.

In Quebec — where its vaccine booking site keeps crashing — they had 753 cases and 9 deaths. Manitoba meanwhile saw 104 new cases and 1 death.

HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:

  • To date 243 local cases have been tested positive for the COVID-19 variant of concern UK B.1.1.7 (UK), 7 cases have tested positive for the P.1 variant of concern (Brazil), 1 case has tested postive for the B.1.351 variant of concern (South Africa) and an additional 508 cases have screened positive (awaiting confirmatory testing)
  • More than 53,600 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Simcoe Muskoka, mostly to health care workers in local hospitals, long-term care and retirement homes. This includes 15,746 individuals who have received both of the required doses of the vaccine. In addition, 3,007 (or 94%) long-term care residents and 3,431 (or 94%) retirement home residents have received their first dose.
  • There have been 189 new cases reported to the health unit for the current week.
Here’s a look at how Simcoe-Muskoka is off to at the start of Year 2 of the pandemic.

IN OTHER COVID NEWS …

  • Variants now account for 42 per cent of positive tests, according to Ontario’s Science Advisory Table.
  • B.C. puzzle maker having trouble meeting demand. Cobble Hill Puzzles says its sales almost doubled to 2.4 million in 2020 from 2019.
  • Joe Biden wants all Americans over 18 on vaccine waiting lists by May 1. And he set a goal of July 4 for “independence” from pandemic celebrations. But a New York Times graph today shows it could take until late August to inoculate everyone.
Gravenhurst’s Creative Plate restaurant owner Connie Ure, who has been closed since the start of the pandemic, is planning a comeback this summer. She’s been taking advantage of the downtime to outfit a mobile food truck for use as COVID zone restrictions will allow. She says she’s already busy applying for municipal operating permits in Muskoka.

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