'Get to that finish line': Data shows some Waterloo region residents not getting 2nd COVID-19 dose

Waterloo regional health officials urged residents on Friday to get vaccinated to slow the spread of the Delta variant, as data shows some people are not showing up for their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Shirley Hilton, who leads the Waterloo Region Vaccine Distribution Task Force, said they are trying to encourage or to instill a sense of urgency at this time. 

"We can't take our foot off the gas pedal. We still have a little ways to go, this is the last mile, as we keep calling it, and we really need people to look at it as the last mile," Hilton said during a media briefing.

"It's the hardest mile if you think about it as a marathon, it's always the hardest to get to that finish line and we're not there yet. The encouragement that I have is, 'people please don't take your foot off the gas pedal.'"

Hilton said the task force has made a lot of strides as it relates to vaccine accessibility. 

"When we think back to the very beginning of the vaccine [rollout], our stumbling block wasn't clinics, it was the availability of the vaccine, and now we're on the other side where we have plenty of vaccine and accessibility for people to go and get it and it's just that extra little urge and push," Hilton said.

'It's absolutely the best thing to do'

Meanwhile, Waterloo region's medical officer of health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang said while there are a lot of people who are taking the opportunity to get their second dose as soon as they're eligible, some are not.

She said the health unit is reaching out to those people individually to try to get them to book an earlier second dose.

"We run the numbers and we know that they're eligible now for their second dose," Wang said.

"We've heard from some people who say they feel that they've had a first dose, and they kind of don't think it's necessary to rush to get a second dose.

"That's why we've been sort of emphasizing here that in these times when we have experienced Delta and we're likely to see more of Delta in the coming weeks, it's absolutely the best thing to do, to get your second dose as soon as you're eligible and not to wait."

Wang said case rates, hospitalizations and outbreaks in Waterloo region continue to remain stable.

As of Thursday, the current case rate sits at 22 cases per 100,000 per week.

According to Wang, local data continues to show full vaccination provides strong protection against COVID-19 and severe outcomes.

Locally, for all COVID-19 cases since the 1st of May, 72 per cent of cases were not vaccinated, 24.7 per cent were partially vaccinated and 3.3 per cent were fully vaccinated.

The majority of hospitalizations, 71.6 per cent were in individuals who were not vaccinated, 23.9 per cent were in partially vaccinated individuals, while 4.6 per cent were in fully vaccinated people.

Of reported deaths in the region since May, 76.5 per cent were not vaccinated or not yet fully protected by their vaccinations, while eight deaths were among individuals who were 80 or older.

19 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday

Nineteen new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Waterloo region on Friday, including one variant of concern.

There were no new deaths reported.

Active cases are now at 135, one more than the previous day's total.

There were 17 people with the virus in the region's three hospitals.

Meanwhile, the number of outbreaks remains unchanged at four. They are as follows:

• One at Nazarene Christian Congregation in Kitchener with 30 cases. Public health has said anyone who was at the church on Aug. 1 is considered a high-risk contact.

• One at a food processor with 10 cases.

• One at Conestoga Lodge retirement home where there were six cases in non-staff members.

• One at Rising Oaks Early Learning St. Brigid with two cases.