COVID-19 vaccines: Ottawa nearing 90% first-doses for eligible residents

Ottawa’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign is nearing a significant milestone as first-dose uptake continues to climb in the nation’s capital.

Ottawa Public Health’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard shows that 89 per cent of eligible residents have now received at least a first dose of the vaccine, marking 817,185 people or 77 per cent of the overall population.

Double-dose vaccination rates for eligible residents born in 2009 or earlier currently stand at 83 per cent, or 73 per cent for residents of all ages.

OPH’s stated goal is for 90 per cent of all residents to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

2:25 Ontario makes COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for all long-term care home staff

Meanwhile, the local health unit reported 61 new coronavirus cases on Friday.

There are now 391 active COVID-19 cases in the city.

Two more people are now in hospital locally with COVID-19, up to 19 on Friday, with 10 patients still in the intensive care unit.

There were no new deaths included in the latest report, one day after a new fatality tied to COVID-19 was recorded locally.

COVID-19 outbreaks have now closed down a second school since kids returned to class a month ago.

École élémentaire catholique Marius-Barbeau, where eight students and two staff members have reportedly tested positive as part of an outbreak, will close for at least 10 days to break the chain of transmission.

Earlier this week, OPH closed down St. Benedict Elementary School as part of an outbreak, with 15 students testing positive for the virus to date.

While outbreaks are declared at schools where two or more cases have an identifiable link, full school closures are occasionally warranted when cases are identified in multiple student cohorts or without identifiable links.

“Going all the way to a school closure is rare,” said Ottawa’s medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches during a media availability on Wednesday. She added that transmission within schools has been “limited” since the return to classes thanks to public health measures in place.

There are currently nine active outbreaks affecting schools in Ottawa, representing half of the ongoing outbreaks in the city.

2:07 Questions about future of school rapid COVID-19 test program