Taylor Blewett
FILE: Three vials with different vaccines against Covid-19 by (L-R) Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca.Photo by THOMAS KIENZLE /AFP via Getty Images
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- Province performs one-day record vaccinations, with 72,451 shots completed. A total of 1,676,150 vaccine injections completed
- Ontario reports 1,571 new cases as of Wednesday
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson says theres an urgent need for COVID-19 vaccination via pharmacies in Ottawa, and that he and health board chair Keith Egli wrote to the provincial health minister Wednesday morning requesting that Ottawa be urgently prioritized for inclusion in the pharmacy pilot program as it expands.
Select pharmacies in the Toronto, Kingston and Windsor-Essex health unit regions have been booking appointments for vaccination with the AstraZeneca shot for people aged 60 and older.
Watson said in a news briefing Wednesday that a significant number of local pharmacies have reached out to the city, indicating their willingness to participate.
Given Ottawas large geographic size, both pharmacies and primary care providers will be critical to ensuring equitable vaccine access for residents, said Watson. He also noted that Ottawa has clusters of COVID-19 cases comparable to those in the GTA.
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There is no reason that we can see for us not being included in this program at this time.
The mayor also revealed that an announcement is coming Friday about further supports from the city for the small business community.
For those of you who are currently eligible for a vaccine, I recognize that the last few days has not gone as smoothly as we had wanted to, due to issues with the provincial booking system, Watson said.
In addition to appointments being double-booked through the provincial system, Watson said he knows many Ottawans are having trouble booking second appointments.
While we have limited abilities to resolve these issues because they lie solely with the provinces booking system, staff have worked quickly to mitigate them and ensure residents have as smooth a process as possible when they arrive at a community vaccine clinic, said Watson.
Having spoken with provincial officials on Tuesday, the mayor said he understands theres a plan in place to fix the issues.
Emergency and Protective Services GM Anthony Di Monte said that more than 41,800 Ottawa residents have booked vaccine appointments through the provincial system since it launched last Monday. Daily discussions with the province are ongoing to identify and address issues as quickly as possible, so we can continue with our successful rollout of vaccinations.
The province did make some changes overnight, said Di Monte, and the system has improved. More than 4,200 people have booked appointments since.
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More than 3,000 excess appointments were previously booked at two community vaccinations clinics for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The province did try to re-book affected residents last weekend, said Di Monte, but more than 1,400 couldnt be reached.
City and OPH staff worked round-the-clock over the weekend on a contingency plan, ultimately opening two temporary clinics and arranging a shuttle service to help people get there.
We know the situation wasnt ideal for many residents arriving at the clinic yesterday, said Di Monte, noting that wait times were longer than usual and some people had to move locations. However, he said every resident who showed up for an appointment on Tuesday received a vaccine.
Public health data show that Ottawa received its largest-ever shipment of COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.
More than 36,000 Pfizer doses arrived, bringing the total number of vaccine doses received locally to 133,440 since December. Close to 100,000 doses have been administered.
Ottawa Public Health reported 80 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, while the number of lives lost to the disease was unchanged, totalling 457
The number of active cases city-wide dropped slightly, to 747.
Current COVID-19 hospitalizations rose to 27 (from 25 Tuesday), with six in ICU, compared to four the previous day.
One new outbreak was reported locally, involving one staff and one resident case at a supported independent living home.
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Ottawa is currently in the red zone of the provinces colour-coded pandemic response framework, just one step down from the most restrictive grey-lockdown zone. Unlike other zones, grey-lockdown is not associated with a specific weekly incidence or a test positivity rate. Rather, lockdown indicators include adverse trends after entering (the red zone), such as increasing weekly case incidence and/or test positivity.
If we continue to follow public health guidance we can avoid going into the grey-lockdown zone, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches said Wednesday. Things dont have to get worse before they get better.
We had another Primer Minister come by City Hall yesterday to get their COVID-19 Vaccine.
Thank you to PM Chrétien for allowing us to share this moment.
I feel like there is something very Canadian about our leaders lining up with everyone else to get their COVID-19 Vaccine. pic.twitter.com/ug8PcopIVB
Jim Watson (@JimWatsonOttawa) March 24, 2021
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The latest COVID-19 news in Ontario
Ontario reported 1,571 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the seven-day average in the province to 1,676 a high not seen since early February.
Meanwhile, a new record has been set in the province for the number of daily vaccine doses administered, with 72,451 shots completed the previous day. A total of 1,676,150 injections have now been pushed out since Ontario started its vaccination campaign.
In terms of active COVID-19 cases per 100,000, the hardest hit regions of the province are currently Peel (225), Thunder Bay (201), and Toronto (177).
Public Health Ontario reported 89 new confirmed cases in Ottawa in the last day, 20 in Eastern Ontario, 20 in Leeds, Grenville & Lanark, six in Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington, two in Renfrew County and District, and one in Hastings Prince Edward.
The Leeds, Grenville & Lanark health unit reported Wednesday that the provincial system was having problems with booking vaccination appointments in the region. We are working to resolve ASAP, the health unit tweeted.
Eligible individuals were directed to book at 1-844-369-1234 or covid@healthunit.org, and give their name, date of birth, phone number and eligibility group.
The Provincial Vaccine Booking System is experiencing issues with booking appts in LGL. We are working to resolve ASAP. Eligible individuals can book at 1-844-369-1234 or covid@healthunit.org. Provide your name, eligibility group, DoB, preferred clinic and phone number. pic.twitter.com/Mq1lstJ9Oc
LGL Health Unit (@LGLHealthUnit) March 24, 2021
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Ten more COVID-19 deaths were recorded across the province, bringing the cumulative number of lives lost to 7,263, while the number of people hospitalized with the disease (893) and in ICU (333) continued to climb.
Variants of concern have also been identified in 43 more confirmed cases 10 linked to the P.1 (Brazil) variant, three to the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant, and 30 to the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant.
Latest COVID-19 news from Quebec, Outaouais
Quebec has recorded 783 new cases of COVID-19, the provincial government announced Wednesday.
Thats the highest one-day case count in almost two weeks.
In addition, eight new deaths were reported, none of which occurred over the previous 24 hours.
More than one million people have now received first doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the province. And Quebec says it has completed first-dose vaccination for all residents of private seniors homes.
In the Outaouais region, 64 new cases were reported in the last day. The COVID-19 death toll in the area totals 171 lives lost.
Premier François Legault and the Outaouais regional health officials warned residents on Tuesday that Outaouais residents should adhere to anti-COVID-19 precautions if they expect to remain in the provinces orange zone.
Testing and vaccines
Where to get tested for COVID-19 in Ottawa: https://www.ottawatestingupdate.ca
Ontarians aged 75 and older can can book vaccine appointments online, using a provincial portal: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine/
They can also call the provincial vaccine information line at 1-888-999-6488 for assistance.
- ‘We followed all the guidelines and got COVID:’ Is messaging keeping up with more contagious variants?
- As Ontario enters third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, Quebec could avoid it completely
-With files from Postmedia
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