COVID: Hamilton Expands Walk-In Vaccine Option For Ages 5-11 Starting Next Week – Hamilton | The Canadian News

A pair of Hamilton COVID-19 vaccine clinics will begin offering walk-in third doses for people ages 5 to 11 starting Monday.

The move comes days after the city’s medical health official, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, said that “accessibility” to vaccines was open, with many unfilled appointments targeting the age group.

“Currently, we are sitting on 38 percent of children, ages five to 11, who have received a first dose,” Richardson said.

“We’ve had a significant amount of over-accessibility at open appointments over the past few weeks for kids in that age group, so we highly encourage people to come forward.”

Participating clinics are Lime Ridge Mall on the Mountain and Center on Barton on the eastern edge of town. More locations will be revealed in the coming days and weeks.

Earlier this week, Hamilton’s Center on Barton COVID-19 vaccine clinic began offering walk-in third doses for people 50 and older starting Wednesday.

So far, only about 36 percent of people under the age of 50 in the city and eligible for a booster shot have received it.

“We should be able to meet the demand of anyone who wants a third dose to have one by the end of this month,” Richardson said.

Hours of operation are from 8 am to 8:30 pm and parking in the area is free.

The province opened the third dose for Ontarians in mid-December, and to date, all eligible for a booster dose must book an appointment.

Hamilton’s health partners administered more than 8,700 doses of vaccines Thursday, a decrease of about 900 injections day-over-day.

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The number is on par with the total doses given citywide on the same day last week, which was slightly less than 8,449.

About 45,000 doses have been administered in the past seven days, up from the estimated 41,000 that were administered in the previous seven days.

As of January 7, the city has launched about 1.09 million doses of COVID vaccines with about 449,000 second visits and 190,000 third injections.

More than 79.8 percent of eligible Hamiltonians ages five and older have received a couple of doses, while 85 percent have received at least one injection.

About 86 percent of residents over the age of 12 have received at least two injections, while about 88.8 percent have received a first dose.

The city still lags behind the provincial average, which has 88.3 percent of those 12 and older with two doses and 91 percent with a single dose.

More than 91 percent of people over 60 in the city have received two injections, while more than 50 percent have received a booster.

Excluding children ages five to 11, Hamiltonians in the 12 to 24 age group account for the lowest vaccination rates of those eligible in the community with just over 79 percent receiving a pair of doses.

As of Friday, Hamilton has 28 institutions with seniors in a COVID-19 outbreak, accounting for 183 of the city’s estimated 450 unsolved cases related to surges.

The list includes 13 nursing homes with 69 cases and 15 long-term care homes (LTCH) accounting for 114 infections.

Slightly more than 100 of the 183 cases involve workers, more than 70 are linked to residents.

Public health has connected the Wellington Nursing Home on Upper Wellington Street with 45 cases, the largest of all ongoing outbreaks as of January 7.

The Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Center is not far behind with 31 cases, 13 more day after day.

Hospitals represent the second largest group with outbreak cases with 163 in 13 facilities.

St. Joe’s has six of the outbreaks linked to 65 cases, while Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) has seven outbreaks affecting 91 people.

The city reported more than 7,500 active cases on Friday, but public health notes that the number is underestimated due to the province’s recent change in its testing strategy.

About 44 percent of those cases are people between the ages of 20 and 39.

Hamilton’s seven-day case average has dropped a bit week-over-week from 722 per day last Friday to 634 as of January 7.

Altogether, the Hamilton hospital network has 248 COVD patients, including 33 in the ICU.

There are about 900 healthcare workers in total between St. Joe’s and Hamilton Health Sciences who are now isolating themselves due to possible exposure to COVID.

The city’s positivity rate, which represents the number of tests that tested positive in Ontario labs, has skyrocketed week-over-week from 8.30% to 31.2% as of Friday.

One more COVID-related death was recorded for Friday, a person over the age of 80.

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