Over 12,500 Waterloo Region Children Ages 5-11 Received First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine | The Canadian News

More than 12,500 children in the Waterloo region between the ages of five and 11 have received their first injection of the COVID-19 vaccine since it was first delivered 11 days ago.

The Waterloo Department of Public Health says 26.62 percent of the area’s residents out of the estimated 48,000 in that age group have received their initial dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

This number increased by 8.5 percent from Friday, and Waterloo Public Health no longer updated its totals over the weekend.

The agency says there have now been 941,742 vaccinations in the area, which is 7,303 more than it reported on Friday.

However, the number of those receiving their second dose continues to rise at a slow rate, as that total now stands at 455,372, 569 more than what was announced 72 hours earlier.

This means that 75.24 percent of all residents in the region have already received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Vaccinations for young people could not come at a more prudent time as a series of COVID-19 outbreaks have been announced in schools in the Waterloo region over the past few days.

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Five new outbreaks were announced over the weekend and four of them came to schools, including Mary Johnston Public School in Waterloo, Sir Adam Beck Public School in Baden, Saint John Paul II School in Kitchener, and Forest Glen Public School. in New Hamburg. The fifth new outbreak occurred at an unnamed car dealership.

Additionally, the Waterloo Department of Public Health reported another 125 positive tests for the coronavirus on Monday, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the area to 21,145.

This brings the seven-day average of new cases daily to 34.6. A week ago, that number was 24.7.

Another 70 people were also cleared of the virus, bringing the total number of resolved cases in the area to 20,549.

No new deaths have been reported in the area in five days, leaving the death toll at 308, including one victim in December.

The region now has 282 active COVID-19 cases, the highest number that has been reported since July 12.

There are also 12 people in hospitals in the area, including two patients who need intensive care.

Elsewhere, Ontario reported 887 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the province’s total case count to 624,384.

Of the 887 new cases recorded, the data showed that 373 were unvaccinated, 24 were partially vaccinated, 426 were fully vaccinated, and the vaccination status of 64 people was unknown.

According to monday report, 139 cases were registered in Toronto, 73 in Simcoe Muskoka, 60 in the York region, 60 in the Peel region and 55 in Ottawa. All other local public health units reported fewer than 50 new cases in the provincial report.

The death toll in the province now stands at 10,027, as three more deaths were reported.

—With files from Jessica Patton of Global News

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