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Region's Board of Health praising residents rolling up sleeves

Waterloo Region has one of the highest first dose COVID-19 vaccine coverage rates in Ontario
Tim Herd
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Sign beside the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at The Boardwalk in Waterloo. (Erin Anderson/KitchenerToday)

Waterloo Region is doing quite well with the COVID-19 vaccine roll out.

Officials are praising community members for their efforts, as the region has one of the highest first dose coverage rates in Ontario. 

Just over 80 per cent of those age 18 and older have at least one dose.

And for second doses, "we've caught up at light speed to the rest of the province," said regional CAO Bruce Lauckner, with over 55 per cent of adults fully vaccinated. 

In terms of supply, the region is getting fewer doses of Pfizer and more doses of Moderna from the province.

But Lauckner said that's not going to stop them.

"Vaccine clinics will continue to run at max capacity, but I do anticipate we'll start to slow down at some point in July as our numbers dwindle, and more people get their second dose," he said.

Lauckner added the "Hockey Hub" model at Bingemans will continue to run until Sunday.  But starting next week, the region will shift from that hub to more drive-thru clinics, with the help of Bingemans.

"They have a good amount of space there to allow us to get traffic off the roads," the CAO commented. 

On Friday, Waterloo Region moves into Step 3 of reopening, and Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang said even with vaccination rates surging, the Delta variant continues to circulate in the community.

"In addition with the lifting of several restrictions in Step 3, we can expect that the risk of Delta spread will increase," she said.

"This is why we must continue to get vaccinated as quickly as we can, and we must continue to follow public health measures diligently." 

Dr. Wang also touched on comments made by the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding mixing doses.

"Ontario continues to advise (citizens) that mixing the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) as well as the mixing of AstraZeneca and an mRNA is safe and effective," she said.

Dr. Wang added mixing doses allows people to get their second dose a lot sooner, and is in line with the advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunizations.