Access troubles continue at city's COVID-19 vaccination hotline

On its fourth day in operation, seniors are still having problems getting through to the city phone line set up to book vaccinations for people aged 85 and above. 

"I called at 9 this morning," said Durand resident Bob McMillan, 85, on Tuesday. "The first time I called I didn't get any tone at all. I thought there must be something wrong with my phone. So I called back again in a few minutes and got a busy signal. A few minutes call volumes… The scheme set up is a crock."

The phone line has been open since Saturday, with vaccinations for that age group starting Monday. However, residents have reported so many challenges getting through that city officials apologized Monday for the frustration the phone system had caused.

"We are very sorry for the angst this has been causing," said Hamilton medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson during a Monday media briefing. "We have added more staff and extended the hours."

MacMillan says he's not too upset about the delays — "In fairness, I only had a half hour of aggravation." But he has given up trying to reach the service, opting to wait for the provincial online booking portal set to launch mid-month. "I bet many people are quite frustrated."

The hotline can be reached at 905-974-9848, option 7. 

As of the end of day Monday, a total of 37,490 vaccines had been administered in Hamilton — 11,394 at mobile clinics, 253 by St. Joseph's Healthcare and 25,843 at the fixed clinic at Hamilton Health Sciences. The city says it has fully vaccinated more than 15,000 people. 

As of Tuesday, Hamilton Public Health Services reported three confirmed cases of the COVID-19 variant that originated in the United Kingdom, B.1.1.7. Another 66 cases have screened positive for variants of the virus. Variant cases have been screened positive in the outbreak at Unit B3 of the Juravinski Hospital, which was reporting two patient cases. Cases related to the outbreak at Electromart Inc. have also screened positive for variants.

There are currently 23 COVID-19 outbreaks in the city.

Overall, Hamilton saw 35 new cases reported Tuesday, and no new deaths. There were 416 active cases of COVID-19 in the city, a reduction of 33. The weekly rate of new cases per 100,000 is 58, an increase of two from the previous posting.

Since March 2020, a total of 283 people in Hamilton have died after contracting COVID-19. 

Brant

Brant County is reporting 54 active COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, a net increase of eight from the previous day. However, there were 13 new cases reported there in the past day.

The county has seen 1,498 total cases and 12 deaths. Its reproductive number is sitting as 1.12. 

Two COVID variant cases have been detected on screening. 7,954 vaccinations doses have been administered and 2,533 people have been completely vaccinated.

Haldimand-Norfolk

The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit has seen a total of 1,430 cases, an increase of two from its previous posting. It is reporting 30 active cases and a total of 39 COVID-related deaths. 

The health unit has administered 5,699 of 12,285 vaccine doses it has received from the province, and says 1,573 people have been completely vaccinated. 

Halton 

Halton Region is reporting 28 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the region's total case count to 9,538. There are 253 active cases in the region and 196 people have died. 

Two more cases in the region have screened positive for a COVID-19 variant, bringing the total number of suspected variant cases in Halton to 77. Thirteen of those have been confirmed as variants of concern.

As of Friday, the region had administered 28,622 doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

Niagara

Niagara Region is reporting 18 new cases on Tuesday, bringing that region's total to 8,615. The region has 210 active cases, a drop of 60 from the previous day. 

The region saw no new deaths on Tuesday. A total of 369 people have died from the virus in Niagara.

There have been 38 cases that have screened positively for COVID-19 variants, although none have been confirmed.

The Region administered 152 vaccine doses on Monday, adding to its total of 10,804 doses administered.

Six Nations

At Six Nations of the Grand River, there were 115 active cases as of Monday, and no new cases. 

The community has seen 366 cases of COVID-19, and currently has four community members in hospital. Three people at Six Nations have died from the virus.

As of Monday, the community's rate of cases per 100,000 was 814, almost 11 times that of Toronto and more than 14 times that of Hamilton.