No booster shots available as Niagara Region hits 750 active COVID-19 cases

As the Niagara Region hit a high of 750 ongoing COVID-19 cases today (December 20) due to the Omicron variant, the Niagara Region Public Health (NRPH) announced that it could be a while for more adult vaccines are available.

“Due to high demand, adult clinic appointments in Niagara are now fully booked,” said the NRPH. “Please continue to check the provincial booking portal for the most up-to-date information on available appointments.”

That means no booster shots available for those hoping for added protection against the Omicron variant.

As it was, the three day total for new COVID-19 cases in Niagara from December 18 to 20 was not a pretty sight.

The region hit 99 new cases on Saturday, followed by another 82 on Sunday and an additional 74 today (December 20) which saw the ongoing case number hit 750. You have to go back to May 7 to see a daily new case total higher than Saturday’s as the region had 110 new cases that day.

On the positive side, there have been no additional deaths in Niagara for a week and a half as that continues to stay steady at 444. However, with the region sitting at 19,833 total cases since March 2020, at the current rate Niagara is likely to hit 20,000 with two to three days.

St. Catharines and Niagara Falls remain the two hardest hit communities with St. Catharines showing 174 active cases while Niagara Falls has 140. However, that is due to their larger population. In actual fact, when compared to the other 10 communities in Niagara in cases per 10,000 residents, St. Catharines is the third-lowest with 12.3 and Niagara Falls is the sixth lowest with 14.6.

From there, it’s a significant drop to Welland, showing 63 ongoing cases, Fort Erie with 61 and both Grimsby and Lincoln sitting at 57.

Niagara-on-the-Lake currently has 40 active cases followed closely by Thorold at 39. Pelham, Port Colborne and West Lincoln have 32, 27 and 21 cases respectively with Wainfleet the sole single-digit community at just five cases.

In terms of cases per 10,000 residents, Lincoln is the highest with 23.3 followed by Niagara-on-the-Lake at 21.2.

Source from: https://www.insauga.com/no-booster-shots-available-as-niagara-region-hits-750-active-covid-19-cases/