Second shipment of Moderna vaccine arrives in Windsor-Essex

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) says it has received enough of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to administer the final doses at seniors' homes.

WECHU CEO and Chief Nursing Officer Theresa Marentette said the shipment arrived on Friday.

The health unit expects second doses at long-term care and retirement homes to be complete by end of day on Feb. 18, Marentette said at a media briefing on Monday morning.

The vaccinations come after months of widespread outbreaks at seniors' facilities in the region. Throughout the pandemic, 222 residents of seniors' homes died of COVID-19.

But the number of outbreaks has declined in recent days. So far this month, no new outbreaks have been declared, though a dozen remain active.

There are still 376 residents within long-term care and retirement homes awaiting a first dose of the vaccine, Marentette said. Anyone with an active case of COVID-19 was not eligible to receive the shot on vaccination day.

Marentette said the health unit would be working to vaccinate those residents. It has also asked Windsor Regional Hospital to vaccinate the remaining workers and essential caregivers with the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine when supplies allow.

"We know that there are more than 1,700 people who would like the vaccine and have not received their first dose at this time," she said.

The new batch of vaccines came despite questions about how much of the Moderna vaccine Canada would be receiving in the short-term — and when.

The company previously said it would be sending 20 to 25 per cent fewer product to Canada in February than expected.

On Friday, the Canadian Forces general leading the federal vaccine plan said he didn't know the reason for the delay or when exactly more shots would be coming in February and March.

40 new cases on Monday

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) reported 40 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. 

Nineteen of the new cases are close contacts of previously confirmed cases, while three cases are outbreak related and four were community acquired. The rest are under investigation.

There are 388 active cases in the region, down from a peak of about 2,800 in mid-January. Over the weekend, 40 new cases were announced as well.

Since the pandemic began, there have been 12,374 COVID-19 cases recorded in Windsor-Essex and 343 deaths, according to WECHU.

There are 51 COVID-19 patients hospital in the region, with 10 in the ICU.

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There are 27 active outbreaks.

Two outbreaks are active at Windsor Regional Hospital and two outbreaks are active at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.

Outbreaks are active at 11 workplaces:

• Four in Leamington's agricultural sector.
• One in Kingsville's agricultural sector.
• One in Tecumseh's health care and social assistance sector.
• Three in Windsor's manufacturing sector.
• One in Tecumseh's manufacturing sector.
• One in Windsor's public administration sector.

There are 12 active outbreaks at long-term care and retirement facilities:

• Franklin Gardens in Leamington, with 33 resident cases and 12 staff cases.
• Heron Terrace in Windsor, with two resident cases and two staff cases.
• Chartwell Leamington, with two resident cases and two staff cases.
• Regency Park in Windsor, with 22 resident cases and 14 staff cases.
• Devonshire Retirement Residence in Windsor, with 48 resident cases and eight staff cases.
• Rosewood Erie Glen in Leamington, with 42 resident cases and 10 staff cases.
• Augustine Villas in Kingsville, with 66 resident cases and 20 staff cases. 
• Sunrise Assisted Living of Windsor, with 15 resident cases and 10 staff cases. 
• Huron Lodge in Windsor, with 48 resident cases and 26 staff cases. 
• Sun Parlor Home in Leamington, with two resident cases and 14 staff cases.
• Berkshire Care Centre in Windsor, with 99 resident cases and 62 staff cases.
• The Village at St. Clair in Windsor, with 174 resident cases and 139 staff cases.