COVID case rate lowest since start of pandemic

The weekly COVID-19 case rate for Windsor-essex dropped last week to its lowest point since the pandemic began.

Data presented by the region's medical officer of health last Friday showed only 3.2 cases per 100,000 population in the most recent seven days. That's down from 4.2 cases per 100,000 population reported at the end of last week.

“Let's build on that. Let's continue to do the good work all of us are doing,” said Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed. “A lot of that credit goes to the vaccine and we want to make sure everyone gets vaccinated.”

Although COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise among unvaccinated populations in the United Kingdom and the U.S., Ahmed said Canada's high vaccination rate puts it in a better position to prevent another surge.

However, he added, it's important that Windsor-essex residents get both necessary doses of a vaccine in

We continue to offer these walk-ins, especially for first doses, because we want o encourage people to get their first dose.

order to protect them from the Delta variant, which is gaining traction in Ontario and can have devastating consequences for partly and unvaccinated individuals.

With roughly 25 per cent of Windsor-essex adults still unvaccinated and 40 per cent only partly vaccinated, the community's overall level of protection has much room for improvement. Some see low case counts and relatively high vaccination rates and think they don't need to get the jab, Ahmed said. “That is the danger.”

With more than 100,000 local adults unvaccinated, “if and when (transmission rates) start to increase, the virus will have lots of hosts that would be unprotected, who do not have any immunity.

“The vaccines are clearly preventing many of these cases and we are in a better spot because of the vaccinations, but now is not the time to ignore the fact that we still have a large number of people who require vaccination in order to prevent (further spread) in the fall.”

This week, all five area mass vaccination clinics began offering the jab to walk-ins of all ages. Residents, however, can still pre-book their vaccine time slot online or by phone.

“We have plenty of vaccine,” Ahmed said. However, people do not have the luxury of choice and must take the brand of vaccine available to them. In most cases, it's Moderna, with the Pfizer-biontech jab being reserved for those ages 12 to 17, since no other shots have been approved for use on children.

“We continue to offer these walkins, especially for first doses, because we want to encourage people to get their first dose,” Ahmed said.