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October 29, 2022 • 22 minutes ago • Read 2 minutes • Join the conversation Screenshot of Gray Bruce Health Unit’s COVID-19 chart taken on Saturday, October 29, 2022. (The Sun Times/Postmedia Network)
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The Gray Bruce Health Unit advised people on Friday to protect themselves from the COVID-19 virus, which it said has spread more recently than in previous weeks locally and across the province.
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Indicators of increased transmission include outbreaks in long-term care and retirement homes, hospitals, COVID-related admissions, test positivity rates and new case counts, a news release from the health unit said .
As of Friday, there were 17 active outbreaks of COVID-19 at Grey-Bruce facilities. Provincially, the number of hospitalizations for COVID has been increasing in recent weeks, while the weekly case count is at its highest level since August, the statement said.
“Staying up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccines remains the most effective way to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the most serious effects of the virus,” the statement said.
Booster doses are recommended for everyone five years of age and older to help restore protection that may have diminished over time. People 12 years and older are eligible for the newest vaccine, a bivalent booster that targets the original and Omicron strain of COVID, which is the most dominant, the release said.
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Two bivalent boosters targeting the original COVID strain and Omicron are approved by Health Canada and are “expected to provide enhanced protection against the Omicron variant and subvariants compared to the original mRnA vaccines. They also help restore immune protection which has decreased since the previous vaccination,” the statement said.
Frequently heard advice is still recommended: stay home when sick, practice hand hygiene, wear a mask and keep your distance from others when possible in crowded indoor spaces or in long-term care duration, retirement homes and other congregate environments.
Dr. Ian Arra, Grey-Bruce’s medical officer of health, is quoted in the release as saying that the increasing signs of COVID are expected “due to seasonality” as residents spend more time indoors . There is local capacity to handle it, Arra said in the statement.
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But Arra also said the trends “remain worrisome because we know that an increase in transmission at the population level will translate into more people getting sick and some of them experiencing serious consequences,” especially those over 65, the who live in congregate environments and those who have underlying. medical conditions
The statement also urged people to get a flu shot, noting that children between the ages of six months and five years should wait at least 14 days between their COVID shot and another shot. Flu shots are given at participating pharmacies and through health care providers.
The COVID vaccine clinics and other related information are on the health unit’s website. Reserve a vaccine on the COVID-19 Vaccine Portal or by calling the Provincial Vaccine Contact Center at 1-833-943-3900.
Next week there are COVID vaccination clinics in Port Elgin at the Community Complex on November 1 and in Owen Sound at the SOS Clinic at the Owen Sound Farmers’ Market on November 2, both from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. of November 4 there. there are clinics in Hanover at the P & H Center from 10am to 3pm and in Dundalk at the arena between 11am and 4pm
Local pharmacies and health care providers may also offer COVID vaccinations.
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