Last Tuesday morning, doctors in Waterloo Region notified councilors that COVID-19 case rates are back in high numbers.
The region’s seven-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases is 4.1 per 100,000—double since last week. The regional rate is currently above the provincial average, which is at 3.1 per 100,000.
Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, Region of Waterloo’s medical officer of Health, noted that case numbers have been affecting mostly unimmunized individuals and groups.
Currently, there are 126,000 people in the region who are not immunized against COVID-19, and 44,000 of those are eligible residents over the age of 12. Approximately 82,000 are children between the ages of five to 11 who can not receive the vaccine yet.
More local residents are eligible to book a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The expanded list of who can get a third dose at least six months after that second dose includes all Ontario residents over 70 years, First Nations, Métis and Inuit adults and non-Indigenous adults in their households, health care workers, designated essential caregivers in congregate settings, and those who received a complete vaccine series with a viral vector vaccine (two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine or one dose of the Janssen vaccine).
Those eligible for their third dose can book an appointment online at a regional vaccine clinic.
Local hospitals say they expect to terminate up to 158 people for not getting their COVID-19 vaccine.
The terminations would represent about two per cent of the three hospitals’ over 7,900 employees. According to the hospitals, this means the overwhelming majority of workers chose to get vaccinated.
As of Nov. 10, Waterloo health officials have confirmed 20,321 total cases of COVID-19, and approximately 176 cases are considered active. There have been 303 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.