Nearly 400 new COVID-19 cases reported in Waterloo region since Friday, demand high for 3rd doses

Hundreds of people lined up to get a COVID-19 vaccine dose at one of the vaccination buses parked outside the Kitchener Public Library on Monday morning.

Region of Waterloo Public Health reported the bus was at capacity before it even opened at 9 a.m. ET.

Chris Xu said it was difficult to book an appointment online, so he lined up at 5 a.m. to get his third dose.

"It's the holiday season and there's more activities," he said. "I'm worried a little bit about [how the] spread of [the] virus is quicker, is faster now, so it's better to get [the vaccine] as early as possible."

Danielle and Sue Turk arrived at 7:30 a.m. and were told they may be turned away by the time they got to the front of the line. They said they went to the mobile vaccination bus after not having any luck booking appointments online and on the phone.

Sue Turk said she didn't understand why it was so hard to access vaccines.

"I'm not sure why this region is really, really slow."

As well, the region's online booking system saw wait times of 40 minutes to an hour on Monday as more people became eligible for third doses.

The region tweeted "there is a very high demand for third dose appointments at this time. Our regional vaccination clinics are currently fully booked."

398 new cases since Friday

Region of Waterloo Public Health reported 398 new COVID-19 cases since Friday.

Broken down by day, that was:

• 136 cases reported on Saturday.
• 127 cases reported on Sunday.
• 135 cases reported on Monday.

There were no new deaths reported in the region, with 806 active cases.

There were 20 people with the virus who were in the region's three hospitals, including seven people in the intensive care unit. The region noted people in ICU may no longer be infectious, but require ongoing care.

Ontario logged 3,784 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday.

19 outbreaks

There were 19 active outbreaks in the region. One at Lanark Heights long-term care home saw 12 cases: Seven in staff members and five "non-staff" cases. One death was associated with this outbreak.

Nine were in schools:

• A new outbreak at a private school with four cases.
• St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Elementary School in Cambridge with nine cases over multiple cohorts.
• Saint John Paul II Catholic Elementary School in Kitchener with nine cases.
• Tait Street Public School in Cambridge with eight cases.
• St. Augustine Catholic School in Cambridge with four cases.
• St. Mary's High School in Kitchener with four cases.
• Monsignor Doyle Catholic Secondary School in Cambridge with three cases.
• St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Elementary School in Elmira with two cases.
• St. Paul Catholic Elementary School in Kitchener with two cases.

Outbreaks at Southridge Public School in Kitchener, Sir Adam Beck Public School in Baden, Glencairn Public School in Kitchener and St. Louis Adult Learning and Continuing Education in Kitchener have been declared over.

There were five hockey-related outbreaks:

• Cambridge Roadrunners Girls Hockey Association with 26 cases.
• Hespeler Minor Hockey Association with 19 cases.
• Cambridge Minor Hockey Association with eight cases.
• Waterloo Minor Hockey Association with five cases.
• An unnamed hockey-related outbreak with two cases.

The other outbreaks were:

• Columbus Conference Centre with five cases.
• Automobile sales and service workplace with four cases.
• A manufacturing workplace with three cases.
• An office with two cases.

Expect Moderna vaccine at regional clinics

The region's vaccination dashboard showed 75.66 per cent of all residents have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. As part of that, 39.17 per cent of children aged five to 11 have received the first dose.

The region said people 30 and older should expect to receive the Moderna vaccine at regional clinics in the coming weeks, because demand for the third dose has been high and there's an "unexpected provincial Pfizer vaccine shortage," the region said in a release.

The region said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be reserved for people between ages 12 and 29. As well, the region noted there is no shortage of the pediatric dose of Pfizer-BioNTech for children between ages 5 and 11. 

Moderna is similar to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, officials said, and both "are highly effective against severe COVID-19."

Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the region's medical officer of health, says people should take the first dose available to them, and that includes through pharmacies or doctor's offices.

"Getting a third dose of either Moderna or Pfizer is going to boost immunity against the Omicron variant. I urge all residents not to delay getting vaccinated by waiting for a specific brand, whether you are at your doctor's office, a local pharmacy or a regional vaccination clinic," Wang said in the release.