
CDC / Unsplash
This is Oakville's coronavirus update for Saturday, April 8, 2023. After last week's spike, new cases have gone down both in Oakville and Halton. But hospitalizations and deaths remain consistent.
Halton has fallen behind on our booster shots: less than 15% of Halton residents under 50 are up to date with all recommended doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
Across all ages, just over 20% of Oakville's population has a full series of immunization, and the percentage of residents with outdated immunization has grown every week since the beginning of 2023.
Oakville's outbreak at Sunrise Senior Living retirement home ended just yesterday. Seven other outbreaks remain open throughout Halton.
Active cases continue to rise throughout Ontario and Canada-wide. Confirmed cases in Ontario have passed 1.6 million people, with an increase reported again this week in hospital and ICU cases.
The bivalent booster vaccine is now available to those ages 5 and up. Uptick in vaccinations across the province, including locally, has been especially slow, at a pace now 80% slower from fall 2021. Ontario's cumulative known cases has surpassed 1.6 million people.
Over 760 million cases of COVID-19 have now been recorded worldwide since the start of the pandemic; 6.88 million people have died.
**Vaccine booking: Fourth doses (second booster doses) of vaccine are now available for anyone in Halton age 5 and up, though fourth doses must be at least five months since your last dose and 90 days since having COVID-19.
Halton continues to book first and second-dose vaccinations for all residents age six months and older, plus third-dose boosters for anyone age 5 and up.
Oakville COVID-19 Update:
- 13 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported (10 less than last week)
- 1 person was hospitalized (1 less than last week)
- Zero new deaths (No change)
- No active outbreaks in Oakville - minus 1
Halton COVID-19 Update:
- 71 new cases of COVID-19 (31 less than last week)
- 7 people were hospitalized (1 less than last week)
- 2 new deaths (same as last week)
- 7 active outbreaks in Halton - minus 1
Vaccinations in Halton Region:
- At least 1.54 million doses have been administered in Halton
- 93% of Halton residents have at least two doses (the primary series)
- 21% of eligible Halton residents (age 12+) are up to date on their booster shots (have had the primary series and a booster dose in the last six months)
- 42% of eligible residents have a primary series and a booster more than six months ago
Ontario COVID-19 Update:
- There have been 1.60 million cases in Ontario to date
- 16,404 deaths to date (+36 this week)
- 812 people are in hospital with COVID-19 (+29 this week)
- There are 80 people in ICU (+6 this week)
Summary of provincial vaccinations
- 89.93% of all eligible Ontarians (age five and older) have at least one dose (No change)
- 82.49% of Ontarians have received at least two doses (+0.001%)
- 51.97% of people have received a third dose (+0.001%)
Canadian COVID-19 Update:
- Canada has had 4.54 million cumulative cases of COVID-19
- There are 542,900 active cases in Canada (+3,000 this week)
- 3,229 people are currently in hospital (-18 this week)
- There are 50,589 deaths to date (+120 this week)
- 82.70% of Canadians are fully vaccinated (+0.01%)
Global COVID-19 Update:
- U.S. cases to date are now above 104.24 million; 1.12 million have died
- Only 16.7% of Americans are up-to-date with all recommended vaccine booster doses
- 762.20 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic started; 6.89 million people have died
The evidence is clear: vaccination (including all recommended booster shots) is the best way to be protected. Local, provincial, national and international health units affirm the same data that Canada's approved vaccines effectively protect you from COVID-19 and significantly reduce your risks of getting sick, going to the hospital, and dying from the disease.
Pictured right is a graph from Halton region last year showing how dramatically your risk of getting sick or being admitted to hospital is when vaccinated - numbers that have remained consistent since vaccine deployment began in early 2021.
Sources:
- Halton Region (and halton.ca/covid19)
- Halton Healthcare
- Joseph Brant Hospital
- HDSB COVID Advisory Page
- The Government of Ontario dashboard
- Public Health Ontario COVID-19 Data Tool
- Government of Canada
- COVID-19 Vaccination Tracker Canada
- The U.S. Centre for Disease Control
- Our World in Data
- Johns Hopkins University Research Centre
- World Health Organization