Dr. Paul Calls 90% Population Goal for First Doses "Realistic"

As the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) steadily approaches the eventual dismissal of its mass immunization clinics, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, Chief Medical Officer of EOHU, continues to encourage people to get their 2nd doses. 

There are currently 2 active cases in Clarence-Rockland, 4 in the UCPR, and 16 in total in the EOHU.. Twelve new cases have been added since last week, with one person being admitted to the ICU. Dr. Paul confirms that all new cases were either unvaccinated, or only had their first dose.

In terms of vaccinations, the EOHU has administered 6620 this past week, bringing the total number of doses administered to 275,773. 147,911 1st doses have been delivered, accounting for 80.8% of the eligible population, while 126,862 2nd doses have been delivered, accounting for 70.4% of the eligible population.

Most of the vaccinations have been administered to the older demographics, while the younger ones are still in the 50-60% range for 1st and 2nd doses. Dr. Paul says that this explains the higher number of new cases this week, and also explains that the single hospitalized case. Younger people who decide not to get the vaccine are becoming infected, but not becoming sick enough to be hospitalized. 

There are further divides in regards to gender, with young males being the least vaccinated group.  To combat this, there will be pop-up clinics and other focused efforts towards that demographic.

Dr. Paul says that the lull in vaccinations this week when comparing the numbers to other weeks can be explained with people being on holiday, and that the EOHU should be getting more vaccinations soon.