Some Hamilton doctors will start booking AstraZeneca shots for ages 60-64

Primary care settings in Hamilton will start to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine this weekend to residents who will be 60 to 64 years of age in 2021 and who are in good health. 

The different places, says a city media release, were selected by Hamilton Family Medicine partners and are located throughout the city where residents have been identified as being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

"This pilot program is an encouraging next step in the vaccination efforts in Hamilton," said the release. 

They'll start to administer the vaccine on Saturday, March 13. Plans to expand the program to include more primary care practices is ongoing, the city said. 

Physicians will call eligible residents

It said the partnership supporting the initial pilot sites include Community Healthcare Centres, the Hamilton Family Health Team and McMaster Family Health Team.

Health Canada approved the AstraZeneca vaccine at the end of February. The National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI) recommended it for use for those aged 18 to 64. 

Eligible residents will be contacted directly by their primary care physician's office to book appointments, said the release. This is by appointment only, and walk-ins are not permitted. 

The city's also asking residents not to contact their primary care office for an appointment. There will be other opportunities for this age group to receive the vaccine through large-scale clinics at another date, the city said. 

Dr. Scott Wooder, lead physician at the Hamilton Family Health Team, said physicians are concerned they'll be "overwhelmed" with people calling in. That's why the exact family doctors involved aren't being disclosed. 

Wooder said it's tough to speak on how physicians will be added into the mix given that there's an uncertain supply of vaccines and how early it is in the process. 

"Hopefully we'll get enough vaccines so that people can pretty much assume that their family doctor's part of it," he said. 

Earlier in March, the city warned the public about scams, where people ask residents to pay to get to the front of the line for vaccinations. Vaccinations are free of charge.

When contacted for an appointment, residents won't be asked for their healthcare number, social insurance number or credit card number. 

City flags lowered for a week in memory of COVID-19 deaths

The city will fly the flags at half mast at all of its buildings for a week to honour people who have died with COVID-19.

The flags will be lowered on March 11, the day city officials announced the first person with a Hamilton connection was diagnosed with the virus.

A 32-year-old oncologist, who lived in Burlington but worked at Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre, got the virus while traveling abroad. It was Ontario's 41st case.

"Realistically, we can anticipate that there likely will be more," Mayor Fred Eisenberger said that day of COVID-19 cases in Hamilton. That same day, the city launched an emergency operations centre it had been planning since late January.

As of Wednesday, there are 441 people known to have COVID-19 in Hamilton, and 10,976 have been diagnosed with it in the last year. Of those, 289 have died, with 203 of them being 80 or older. 

Hamilton recorded 47 new cases of the virus on Wednesday. 

Mayor Fred Eisenberger said the flags will be lowered for people who died, or whose lives "were seriously affected by the virus."

"We mourn the passing of each individual and offer our deepest condolences to their families, friends and loved ones," he said.

"Over the past twelve months, Hamiltonians have supported one another and shown the true meaning of community. There have been countless stories of compassion, selflessness and innovation."

As of March 9, 47,996 vaccines had been administered in the city. This is "light at the end of the tunnel," Eisenberger said.

But people should "stay home as much as possible, limit activity outside the home to essential activities only, wear a mask, wash your hands, keep your distance from others and get tested for COVID-19 if you have any symptoms or are not feeling well."

The weekly rate of new cases per 100,000 people in Hamilton has increased to 65.

There are also 29 outbreaks in the city. There are two new cases at the St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton West 5th Campus outbreak, bringing its total to five. There is one new case at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre, meaning there are 72 people infected. 

There are 128 cases that have screened as a variant. Five others have been confirmed as the B117 variant, which originated in the U.K. 

Brant

The county of Brant recorded 10 new cases in the last 24 hours. There are 47 active cases in the county, according to data online. 

There have been 1,547 cases since March 2020 and 12 deaths. Two people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19.

A total of 1,488 cases have been marked as resolved.

There have been 12,240 doses of the vaccine administered. 

Haldimand-Norfolk

The counties of Haldimand and Norfolk have recorded 1,473 cases throughout the pandemic. There are 39 active cases.

There have been 39 deaths that are considered COVID-related, and 1,390 people who have recovered. 

There has been 10,129 doses of the vaccine administered. 

The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit says it's asking anyone who is 80-years-old and over, as well as high-risk healthcare workers, who don't have a family physician in the counties or at all to contact its vaccination team. 

You can make an appointment by calling 519-427-5903 or emailing vaccine@hnhss.ca.

The full list of high-risk healthcare workers can be found here. It includes all hospital and acute care staff in front line roles with COVID-19 patients or with a high-risk of exposure to COVID-19, first responders, and others. 

Niagara

Niagara reported 23 new cases of the virus on Wednesday. The region has seen 8,814 cases over the course of the pandemic, including 224 that are active and 8,221 that are resolved.

There have been 369 people who have died in the region.

There have been 11,962 doses of the vaccine administered in Niagara. 

Halton

The number of COVID-19 cases in Halton rose by 33 on Wednesday for a total of 9,883 so far.

Data indicates 300 of those cases are active and 9,385 are resolved.

Seven of the new cases were in Burlington, which has seen 2,496 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. There are 55 active cases in the city. 

There have been 198 deaths in the region, of which 49 were in Burlington. 

The region is reporting a total of 165 variant cases, with 21 being confirmed as variants of concern. The other 144 have been "screened positive" and are waiting for final confirmation.

There have been 33,255 doses of the vaccine administered across the region as of last Friday.

Six Nations

Six Nations of the Grand River has recorded 38 active cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday. 

There has been 401 total cases, and 358 are resolved. Five people have died. 

Five people with the virus are currently hospitalized. Six Nations is in two weeks of lockdown until Friday, March 19.