Hamilton to bump up COVID-19 vaccine capacity amid booster eligibility, Omicron surge

A significant rise in Hamilton’s reported COVID-19 cases this month and availability of booster shots for those aged 18-plus starting Monday has the city scrambling to expand their vaccination program.

A surge in cases tied to the Omicron variant across the province has put more urgency on third shots, for which an estimated 320,000 Hamiltonians would be eligible on Dec. 20, according to public health.

“Hamilton health-care partners are exploring all options to expand capacity to earlier levels seen in the spring and summer of 2021, however, this is a challenging undertaking with limited health care human resources across the local health care system,” the city agency said in a release Thursday afternoon.

The target being set by public health is the administering of 8,000 inoculations per day – four times the average (2,784) handed out so far in December and close to double the 4,700 doses administered in Hamilton on Wednesday.

The city says it’s redeploying about 100 city employees to assist with the operations of vaccine clinics. The move will close a number of recreation centres, arenas, museums, seniors centres and clubs.

On Friday, a temporary clinic at St. Joseph’s West 5th Campus will open for five days with an expected capacity of about 4,000 doses throughout its operation.

Existing sites at the Centre on Barton and at CF Lime Ridge Mall are expected to ramp up daily shots, while primary care outlets like the David Braley Health Sciences Centre (DBHSC), the city’s mobile clinics, and homebound vaccinations from paramedics are expected to maintain current capacities.

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Public health is also urging residents to explore vaccinations through local pharmacies and the province’s GO-VAXX bus.

Ontario’s science table confirmed Thursday vaccines are less effective against the new variant, but emphasized that booster shots will “substantially” increase protection, adding that even two doses of the vaccine will help against severe infection.

The latest provincial modelling suggests that without “prompt intervention, ICU occupancy could reach unsustainable levels in early January.” It also suggested cases could hit up to 10,000 per day by Christmas.

“This will likely be the hardest wave of the pandemic,” said Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, co-chair for Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, at a press conference Thursday.

Public health reported 108 new COVID cases on Thursday, a number not seen since the spring when the city revealed 117 cases on May 20.

Hamilton’s average number of daily COVID-19 cases over the last seven days is at 62. The last time the city saw a number that high was on Sept. 4 when the weekly average case rate was at 67.

Active cases are also up between Wednesday and Thursday, moving from 423 to 604.

Close to 80 per cent of active cases are in people under the age of 50, while 45 per cent of infected individuals are under the age of 30.

The city is reporting 28 outbreaks tied to 89 total cases as of Dec. 16. Fifteen of them are in city schools accounting for 48 total cases.

In the last 14 days, there have been 133 new COVID cases reported at the two public boards. Students account for 119 of those infections.

The city’s two hospital networks actually saw a slight decrease in COVID-19 patients overnight, and are now reporting a combined 27 as of Dec. 16.

Last Thursday, both St. Joe’s and Hamilton Health Sciences combined had 14 COVID patients.

Public health is still characterizing admissions as “low” with an average of less than one new entry per day.

Hamilton’s health partners administered close to 4,700 vaccine doses on Wednesday, an estimated 70 per cent increase in shots compared with a week ago when about 2,750 doses were given.

More than 22,000 doses have been administered over the past seven days which is up from the estimated 17,200 given out the seven days before.

As of Tuesday, 78.7 per cent of eligible Hamiltonians aged five and up have been fully vaccinated while 83.4 per cent have had at least a single dose.

Just over 85 per cent of residents aged 12-plus have had at least a pair of shots, while about 88 per cent have had one.

The city is still behind the provincial average which has 87.7 per cent fully vaccinated 12-plus, and 90.4 per cent with at least a single dose.

At least 90 per cent of those aged 60-plus in the city have had a set of shots and are fully vaccinated.

Excluding newly eligible kids aged five to 11, Hamiltonians in the 18-24 age group represent the lowest vaccination rates of those eligible in the community at just over 77 per cent fully vaccinated.