Adam Prudhomme
Editor
KFLA residents continue to lead the province in getting jabbed with a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
In a pre-recorded message for local media, KFLA medical officer of health Dr. Piotr Oglaza outlined the numbers.
“This week KFLA Public Health continue to have the highest dose uptake in the province,” said Oglaza. “Just under 60 per cent of those 18 years of age and older have received their third dose vaccination. Third dose boosters remain one of the best strategies to combat Omicron. I strongly encourage those eligible to get immunized without delay.”
The high vaccine rate wasn’t just limited to booster shots.
“Based on provincial stats from earlier this week, in the KFLA region we have the highest vaccine uptake for those five and11 years of age in the province,” said Oglaza. “65.2 per cent have received their first dose compared to 46.7 (per cent) provincial average. I’d like to thank parents in the KFLA region for having confidence in the COVID vaccine and encourage others who have not yet done so to book an appointment or look for one of our walk in clinics we have in the region. We continue to have appointments and walk in availability throughout our region at clinics in Kingston and Napanee. We are also ramping up mobile pop up clinics and will be vaccinating at various locations throughout our region. I would like to take a moment to thank our staff and volunteers, primary care, pharmacies, municipalities and other community partners for their efforts to help with the vaccine rollout. Early evidence suggests that COVID-19 activity locally might be rising at a slower rate. We’ll have a better understanding of the trends in the weeks to come.”
Oglaza says Public Health is now focusing on tracking trends in per cent positivity from seven days after the testing changes, hospitalizations and wastewater surveillance as the key indicators for the COVID-19 activity in the community. Wastewater surveillance involves testing sewage for the presence of the virus. If detected, it indicates COVID-19 is present in the area in which the water was tested.
“Right now our hospitalizations might be stabilizing as too may our per cent positivity,” said Oglaza. “But it is too soon to form conclusions. We continue to ask our community to please continue to reduce social interactions, especially with those more vulnerable to illness, get your third dose when you’re eligible, monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and stay home when ill. We recognize that the past few months have been a challenging time but our successes throughout the pandemic show that working together as a community and following Public Health protective measures will continue to build our community strength.”
In their latest update of the COVID-19 community dashboard, KFLA Public health noted there are 20 people currently in hospital due to COVID-19, 11 in the ICU, eight in a ventilator.
Since the start of the pandemic there have been 25 deaths linked to the virus.
KFLA Public Health also noted a milestone on Wednesday as it marked the one year anniversary of the first COVID-19 vaccine administered in the region.
In total, the number of vaccines administered in the region has surpassed 477,000 doses.
- Over 205,000 doses administered in mass immunization and pop-up clinics.
- Almost 165,000 doses administered by pharmacies.
- Nearly 107,000 in hospital clinics and primary care and congregate care settings.
“With almost half a million vaccinations administered in the region, we are all proud to have helped to protect our community from COVID-19,” said Oglaza. “We have come a long way in this fight. We want to thank everyone for getting vaccinated and for partners, staff, and volunteers for all of their support in planning and implementing these vaccination clinics.”