A COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Stratford on Friday will be the first in Perth and Huron counties to offer Nuvaxovid, the protein-based vaccine approved by Health Canada in February.
A COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Stratford on Friday will be the first in Perth and Huron counties to offer Nuvaxovid, the protein-based vaccine approved by Health Canada in February.
Approved for adults 18 and older, the vaccine manufactured by Novavax is the fifth product cleared for use in Canada. Because it uses a more traditional technology than mRNA – the method preferred by vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna – Nuvaxovid has been described by experts as an alternative for people allergic or unwilling to get those shots.
Nuvaxovid has generated some interest in the region. Huron-Perth public health started a waiting list for the vaccine last month, and “most” appointments for Friday’s clinic have been filled, the local health unit said via email.
Walk-in appointments are not available for Friday’s clinic. Additional Novavax clinics will be scheduled in the future, the health unit said. Those interested in the vaccine can call the health unit’s booking line – 1-833-753-2098 – to make an appointment.
Nearly 88 per cent of Huron-Perth residents 18 and older have had at least two doses of COVID-19 vaccine and just more than 62 per cent have received one booster shot, according to the health unit’s most recent figures.
Huron Perth public health reported the region’s 105th COVID-related death on Wednesday. The new death has been linked to an ongoing outbreak at Fordwich Village in Howick, the health unit has confirmed.
There were 10 active outbreaks in the region as of Wednesday, including seven in area long-term care and retirement homes. There were 144 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak in Ontario as of Thursday, government data show.
An outbreak at St. Marys Memorial Hospital continued on Thursday. Nine patients and three hospital workers have tested positive since the outbreak was declared on Monday, according to numbers reported by the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance.
Ontario reported 1,626 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Thursday, a slight decrease from 1,662 the previous day.
The province also reported 207 COVID-19 patients in intensive care. That’s compared to 203 patients in ICU on Wednesday.
The province recorded 19 new deaths from the virus on Thursday.
There were 5,038 new COVID-19 cases reported Thursday in Ontario, but the province said the count is much higher because it added cases that were not reported in the last few days due to service degradation in its case and contact management system.
Access to PCR testing is also restricted, and the scientific director of Ontario’s panel of COVID-19 advisers has said wastewater surveillance suggests the province is seeing between 100,000 and 120,000 new cases each day.
The test positivity rate in Ontario was 18.3 on Thursday.
-With files from the Canadian Press