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www.dtauto.ca Vol. 12, Issue 07
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
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Local health officials tour complex vaccination site
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By Mark Ribble LEAMINGTON — One year after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt, the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre is serving as a mass vaccination site for the people of Essex County. Last Wednesday, Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald, along with County Warden Gary McNamara and Windsor-Essex County Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Wajid Ahmed, got a tour of the site and met with the media afterward. For Mayor MacDonald, the year seemed surreal and she expressed her emotions in seeing this ‘light at the end of the tunnel.’ “When I got the call that we may have to turn this complex into a temporary morgue last spring, I said to my husband that stuff just got real,” she said. “Thankfully we didn’t have to do that, but it was a real wake up call.” Over the course of the year, as McNamara later pointed out, the region lost almost 400 people to COVID-19 and that total continues to slowly rise, as officials race to get vaccines into arms ahead of an expected third wave. As of April 1 last year, the WindHILDA sor-Essex region had 92 confirmed MacDONALD cases of COVID-19 and one resident had died. By April 28, there had been 581 confirmed cases and 43 deaths. Those numbers continued to rise until about the month of June, when public health measures brought the curve under control. At one point during the summer and early fall months, Windsor Essex was sitting on under 90 deaths. The second wave that occurred from November through February, escalated the numbers greatly, with over 13,000 confirmed cases and almost 400 deaths among the current numbers. On the opposite side of the coin, 12, 623 of those confirmed cases have been resolved — either by recovery or death. That does not take into consideration, the hundreds of COVID ‘long-haulers’, who have lingering debilitating issues months after their COVID experience. The province indicates that the current variants of concern are responsible for about 42 per cent of Ontario’s current cases and those variants may spark a third wave. The only things combatting a third wave are the social distancing we are doing and the race to get as many people vaccinated as possible. OFFICIALS TOUR — Page 2
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Leamington Walmart Pharmacist, Sri Etikala, adminsters the first dose of AstraZeneca COVID vaccine at that location to Bryce Phillips on Friday, March 12. Walmart Leamington was among 57 pharmacies in Windsor-Essex to take part in the pilot project, targeting the 60-64 year age group. Photo submitted
Local pharmacies roll out AstraZeneca pilot project REGIONAL — After much speculation and confusion, the Ontario government’s pilot project for the distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine rolled out last week. For those in the 60-64 years age group, this pilot project came as a welcome surprise, as they didn’t expect to see a vaccination until July. There had been reports in past weeks that the AstraZeneca vaccine may not be suited for those 65 years and over. In order to keep the 194,500 doses they received viable, the government had to pivot and use them in the younger age group before expiry. A decision was made to run pilot projects in pharmacies in three health unit areas in the province, including Toronto, Windsor-Essex and the Kingston area. About 325 pharmacies in these areas received about 500 doses each, all to be administered starting last week. The confusion came when the government announced Wednesday, that the project would begin Friday, which left many of the pharmacies scrambling to set up appointment schedules. Costco was ahead of the game, with an online portal ready to book appointments, while others began taking phone calls.
There was also a report out of Europe that the AstraZeneca vaccines in Norway had possibly been linked to blood clots. Canadian officials were quick to dispel those reports and assure Canadians that the vials received here are perfectly safe. Local residents in the age group scrambled to make appointments and hundreds of doses were administered over the weekend in Windsor-Essex. Many of those who received that first dose, now have appointments for the second dose in mid-July. Another 29,000 doses of AstraZeneca went to family health teams in six public health areas, which did not include Windsor-Essex or Chatham-Kent. If you were born between 1957 and 1961, you are eligible for the AstraZeneca pilot project. Seven pharmacies in Leamington and Kingsville were administering doses to the target group on the weekend. They included Zehrs Kingsville, Shoppers Drug Mart Kingsville, Kingsville IDA, Shoppers Drug Mart Leamington, Walmart Leamington, Real Canadian Superstore Leamington and Central Pharmacy Leamington. Call the pharmacy of your choice for appointment availability.
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