COVID-19 vaccine stopping deaths and outbreaks as Hamilton sees 219 cases over weekend

A top health official at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) says data shows the COVID-19 vaccine is saving lives and preventing outbreaks as the city enters a third pandemic wave.

Dr. Dominik Mertz, HHS medical director of infection prevention and control, broke down data during a Thursday town hall meeting and compared the number of deaths in the city with local case numbers.

"When you look back into the middle of December when we had similar case numbers as we see now, we saw a steep increase in the number of deaths. But currently, we have, on average, less than one death per day, and first and foremost, this is thanks to the vaccines that have vaccinated residents in long-term care and retirement homes," he said.

"The vaccine clearly works, we don't see those devastating outbreaks anymore, so the best we can do at this point is whoever can get vaccinated gets vaccinated."

It's a sign of optimism as Hamilton enters lockdown on Monday and must deal with more restrictions.

His assurance comes at a time when some people across Ontario are hesitating to get vaccinated. But as some mull over if they want to get immunized, COVID-19 infections and cases of variants of concern climb.

Hospital outbreaks will be key in third wave

Mertz said outbreaks in hospitals will likely drive public health policy as the pandemic continues.

He broke down data from Public Health Ontario showing that 98.5 per cent of outbreak-related deaths come from congregate settings. But with long-term care and retirement homes getting COVID-19 vaccines, hospitals will be more susceptible to outbreaks and cases.

"Our own outbreaks will become a main or major driver in terms of our acute care capacity, impact on elective care, mortality related to outbreaks as I mentioned, and to a large extent, probably also drive local public health policy because again, what we have to make sure we can protect is our health-care resources," Mertz explained.

"We know from the second wave the piece we were struggling most with was the impact outbreaks have had on us ... the three most important things in my mind of all the things we are doing to prevent outbreaks ... get your vaccine, wear your mask ... and keep your distance."

Of the 36 outbreaks in Hamilton, six are in hospitals. Those include:

• The Juravinski Hospital F3 Unit outbreak with 51 infections and four deaths.
• The Hamilton General Hospital Unit 8 West outbreak with 22 infections and two deaths.
• The Juravinski Hospital F5 Unit outbreak with 15 cases and detection of a variant of concern.
• The Hamilton General Hospital Short Stay Medical Unit outbreak with eight cases, one death and detection of a variant of concern.
• The St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) Charlton Campus Dialysis Centre outbreak with two cases.
• The St. Peter's Hospital 3W outbreak with 17 cases, one death and detection of a variant of concern.

Sharon Pierson, HHS chief operating officer and executive vice-president of clinical operations, said the pandemic is leading to full hospitals across the region.

"Between last week and this week we saw rates in excess of 105 per cent at our adult acute sites and well above 110 per cent at West Lincoln as well so it's across the spectrum of our organizations," she said during the town hall meeting.

But Rob McIssac, HHS president, said the province has asked the hospital network to pause its plans to build mobile hospital in its Wellington Street parking lot. He added HHS will be ready to move quickly if they're asked to resume the work.

HHS has taken steps to try and curb rising occupancy rates including pausing the transfer of critical care patients into Hamilton, Niagara, Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk counties.

The hospital network has also consistently been reminding staff to continue to practice infection, prevention and control measures after getting vaccinated.

"Thanks to everyone. I know these outbreaks and incredible pressures are very burdensome to everyday work and I do truly appreciate everyone's efforts," Pierson said.

There are 117 patients with COVID-19 in HHS and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton.

219 cases in Hamilton over the weekend

Hamilton Public Health Services recorded 219 COVID-19 cases on Saturday and Sunday. There were four more deaths and one new confirmed variant of concern case.

Still, the city has detected 710 potential variant cases. Twelve have been confirmed as the B117 variant first seen in the U.K. The variants are reported to be deadlier and more infectious.

The city's weekly rate of cases per 100,000 people is at 121, which is far above 25, a figure the city's medical officer of health previously said was where she hoped the region could end up after the second wave. 

Hamilton's reproduction number is at 1.12 which means, on average, someone who gets COVID-19 will spread it to at least one other person.

The city is also seeing 3.9 per cent of its COVID-19 tests within the past seven days come back positive. When that number is above three per cent, it indicates the rate of infection is too high for public health to properly track the spread of the virus.

There are 738 active cases as of Sunday and there have been 12,505 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Public health reported 11,254 cases have been resolved and 309 people who had the virus have died.

There have been 87,945 vaccines administered in Hamilton as of Saturday night, according to public health data. That's 12.6 per cent of the eligible population.

Brant

The county of Brant and Brantford have 57 active cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday.

The Brant County Public Health Unit has detected 46 cases of the B117 variant and nine other variants without a clear lineage.

There have been 1,742 cases since March 2020 and 13 deaths. Two people are in hospital with COVID-19.

A total of 1,672 cases have been marked as resolved and 13 people have died.

There have been 24,448 doses of the vaccine administered and 2,570 have been fully vaccinated according to the data. The area's weekly rate of cases per 100,000 people is at 55.14 and its reproduction number is 0.88.

The St. Joseph's Lifecare Centre declared an outbreak after a staff member tested positive for the virus.

Haldimand-Norfolk

Haldimand and Norfolk counties have 83 active cases.

The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit have recorded 1,616 cases throughout the pandemic. There are 74 active cases.

The data shows 39 people have died of the virus, and 1,489 people are listed as recovered.

There have been 18,371 doses of the vaccine administered. 

Halton

The Halton region reported 329 active cases as of Saturday.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Halton rose by 42 for a total of 10,670 infections so far.

The figures show 10,141 cases are resolved and 200 people have died.

Burlington has 84 active cases. It saw 12 new cases on Saturday. There have been 2,687 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Forty-nine people have died.

There are three active outbreaks in the city. Two workplaces have three cases and two cases respectively. There's also a congregate setting with three cases.

There have been 67,563 vaccine doses administered as of Friday.

Niagara

Niagara has 500 active cases of COVID-19 and reported 50 new cases on Sunday.

Eight cases in the region have been identified as the B117 variant and there are 257 other cases that have screened positive, but are pending confirmation. 

Niagara has seen 9,515 cases during the pandemic. There have been 8,640 resolved cases and 375 deaths.

There are 23 active outbreaks, including United Mennonite Home and Garrison Place Retirement.

There have been 21,342 doses of the vaccine administered in the region by the local public health unit. Niagara Health, the local hospital network, has administered 41,846 vaccinations as of Friday evening.

Six Nations

Anyone aged 18 and older in Six Nations of the Grand River can now get a vaccine.

The territory has recorded 11 active cases of COVID-19 as of Friday.

There are two variants of concern.

There have been 437 total cases, and 418 are resolved. Eight people have died. 

Two people with the virus are in hospital.