Despite the continued spread of COVID-19 and still-reported deaths, few people in Windsor-Essex are opting to get booster shots.
According to the Windsor Essex County Health Unit (WECHU), 47. 6 percent of Windsor-Essex citizens have earned their third dose, as of Jan. 4. The rate of taking the fourth dose is lower, with 19. 9 percent of citizens. having won the vaccine.
Both totals are approximately 3 numbers lower than the provincial average.
The Acting Medical Officer of Windsor-Essex calls this “concerning”.
“I recognize that we are now in the third year of the pandemic, but our way of managing the pandemic and COVID-19 is to minimize the burden of disease on the network,” said Dr. Shanker Nesathurai. “Getting vaccinated is a key component of trying to save it or decrease the burden of disease in the network as a whole. »
Nesathurai’s recommendation comes as a new, more contagious subvariant called XBB. 1. 5 is driving case numbers in the United States. Known as the “Kraken” variant, this subvariant causes about 28% of cases south of the border, according to the Centers. for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The US firm also says that Monroe County, Michigan, is experiencing peak levels of COVID-19.
Dr. Wassim Saad, chief of staff at Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH), said during a hospital board meeting Thursday that he believes the “highly infectious and highly transmissible” subvariant of Omicron is already in Windsor.
“We will be one of the first spaces in Canada to see a variant like this come to our community,” he said, mentioning Windsor as a border community.
Nesathurai said disease activity is expanding in Windsor-Essex so far in January compared to all of December. Signs of COVID-19 such as the number of cases, the percentage of positive cases and the number of hospitalizations are expanding and there have been six deaths. Nesathurai said disease activity tends to build up as winter progresses.
WECHU is aiming to drive up vaccination rates at pop-up clinics across the county. A clinic in Leamington saw people come out to receive their vaccinations.
“We are delighted to welcome netpaintings for generally their booster vaccinations,” said Laura Strathdee, clinical practice director at Windsor Essex Community Health Center (weCHC) in Leamington. “We are looking to offer two weekend clinics a month “So that vaccines are available for those who work Monday through Friday or want access on the weekends. “
Migrant staff also arrived at the temporary clinic on Sunday on a bus at 11 a. m. Strathdee said he is looking to bring in busloads of migrant staff to get vaccinated every Sunday.
“We have wonderful relationships with the farms to vaccinate them,” he said. “We bring in language support, nurses and providers who speak their language so we can do a wonderful job answering all of their questions. Doses from other countries don’t fit here, so it’s a little harder to locate what they’re asking for. ” and get them on the right path here.
Some workers are happy to receive the vaccines and they recognize the importance of getting it.
“It’s very important to get the vaccine because the situation is getting worse in some areas and countries,” said Benjae Ondoy, a migrant worker from the Philippines.
Ondoy and his friends Bryan Tiamsim and Dave Amada, also from the Philippines, say the situation is worsening in their country and claim that a vaccination card is required to move into some public places.
Journalist
TJ is a reporter for CBC North in Iqaluit and previously worked at CBC Windsor. You can contact him at tj. dhir@cbc. ca.
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