Espanola is hosting its first mass walk-in vaccination clinic.
Any adult wanting a first or second dose can attend the clinic according to Public Health Sudbury & Districts.
The clinic is being held from 9 am to 1 pm today at the Espanola Regional Recreation Complex.
The agency has up to 200 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine available.
Yesterday, 180 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were distributed in Little Current during Manitoulin Island’s first walk-in vaccination clinic with people lining up at 6:30 am for the shot.
Meanwhile, the 300,000 Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines deemed unsafe by Health Canada will be given back to the company that made it.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Janssen, the company behind the one-dose vaccine, will probably have to make up for the returned doses adding there may not be much of a need for them.
She said talks are underway with provinces and territories on whether they will even use the J&J vaccine once supplied.
Second dose information
Those currently eligible for a second dose include individuals 70 years of age and older in 2021 and those who received a first dose on or before April 18, 2021. Individuals are also eligible for their second dose at the original interval if they have certain health conditions or are members of high-risk population groups.
A look at local and provincial numbers
Public Health Sudbury is reporting three new cases of COVID-19, two in the Greater Sudbury area and one in the Sudbury District.
Considering resolved cases there are 20 active cases in the agency’s jurisdiction.
Health Sciences North reports 12 admitted cases, two with positive results and ten waiting for test results.
Of the two, one individual is in intensive care.
Algoma Public Health has had no new cases two days in a row.
Considering resolved cases there are four active cases in the Algoma District.
Of the four, one individual is from outside the Algoma District who is the only person receiving hospital care within the district.
Ontario reported its lowest daily COVID-19 cases since mid-September yesterday (Tuesday).
The province added 296.
The recovery rate is steady at 97 per cent with more recoveries than new cases reported.
Delta Warning from Tam
Canada is on the cusp of hitting its first national vaccination target.
However, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the Delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 might mean the country has to up its vaccine game again.
Federal modelling done in April and May suggested that if 75 per cent of eligible Canadians had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 20 per cent had two, provinces could safely begin easing restrictions on public movement without overwhelming hospitals again.
Tam says the variants used to develop those models didn’t include Delta, which is the most infectious one tracked in Canada to date, believed to cause more severe illness, and is expected to become the dominant variant circling.
Trudeau self-isolates
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has checked in at the final stop from his trip overseas.
Trudeau and the rest of the Canadian delegation who travelled to the United Kingdom and Belgium checked in at a three-star hotel near the Ottawa airport last night (Tuesday) to begin a 14-day quarantine.
Canada introduced a rule earlier in the year that those entering the country by air without an exemption have to stay at a government-approved hotel for up to three nights before going home to finish the rest of their quarantine.
Trudeau’s office has said the prime minister, as well as his official delegation, will follow all the rules around COVID.
Would you lie?
It appears some who are vaccine-hesitant don’t mind lying if it means they can travel.
That’s according to a new survey that found about 20 per cent of those in that category would lie about their COVID-19 vaccine history if injections were required for international or domestic travel.
The 2021 Smart Traveller Survey, conducted by the Travel Health Insurance Association of
Canada, found that 14 per cent of Canadians are not interested in getting the vaccine.
Among those, about 20 per cent would lie about it if vaccines were a requirement for travel or entry into large events.
