Waterloo residents over the age of 18 can now book their COVID-19 booster appointment for any time after Jan. 4. They can also be booked at local pharmacies or primary care clinics.
Local vaccine clinics began administering boosters to people 50 and older last Monday. The third dose of a COVID-19 shot can be given up to six months, or 168 days, since the second dose.
This news comes during the reports of four confirmed cases of the omicron COVID-19 variant in Waterloo region.
Approximately nine sports teams in the region also have suspected or confirmed cases of omicron, and there are more than 500 high-risk contacts associated with those teams.
According to Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the region’s medical officer of health, the majority of players on the hockey and baseball teams are between the ages of five to 11.
Multiple school cohorts have been dismissed due to being deemed “high-risk contacts”. Regional school boards have been asked to halt all extracurricular activities until the end of the calendar year to reduce the risk of spread, and local sports leagues have also been asked to reduce all non-essential social contacts.
Dr. Wang is encouraging local residents to minimize the size of in-person gatherings over the holidays, as well as cancel or minimize in-person events.
“I know that people have been planning and looking forward to family gatherings and getting together with work colleagues this holiday season,” Dr. Wang said during Friday’s COVID-19 briefing.
“We all hoped this holiday season would be different, but we cannot let our guard down now,” she said.
As of Dec. 15, Waterloo health officials have confirmed 21,505 total cases of COVID-19, and approximately 463 cases are considered active. There have been 309 COVID-related deaths in the region.
Kaitlyn Severin
Student Journalist of the Year - JHM award winner, Kaitlyn has worked previously as The Cord’s senior news editor. She’s also published articles for VICE and Shameless.