Hamilton showing ‘very concerning’ COVID-19 rates as access to vaccines, tests dwindle
The average number of daily COVID-19 cases in Hamilton has quintupled over the past three weeks as demand for tests and booster vaccines spike to a level that's crippled public health operations.
The city's medical officer of health sounded the alarm over the very concerning" transmission of the Omicron variant Monday, saying its rapid spread underscores the importance to get vaccinated and heed health measures.
We know there is going to be a wave. What we're trying to do is to slow down that wave so that we can protect people and reduce the number of severe cases that involve hospitalization and death," Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said at a media briefing.
Indeed, the average number of daily COVID cases jumped from 21 on Nov. 29 to 113 on Monday, while the weekly incidence rate per 100,000 people has doubled in just the past week.
Richardson said the rising number of new infections - 508 over the weekend - has overwhelmed contact tracing staff and resulted in notification delays of positive cases and their close contacts.
You can imagine the number of people we're handling in the system is significant," she said. We are asking people who are symptomatic ... to self-isolate and notify their contacts of their COVID-19 status because the case manager might not be able to reach you."
The local health warnings came on the same day the province opened up eligibility for booster shots to all Ontario adults.
But vaccine appointments through the city's portal either loaded at a snail's pace or showed no available slots until the new year through much of Monday.
And the situation on the ground at clinics was equally frustrating for residents.
A GO-VAXX bus in Freelton ran out of around 300 vaccine doses less than two hours after opening to clients Monday morning - despite hundreds of people lining up outside the retrofitted bus in frigid temperatures. Meanwhile, appointments at a vaccine clinic at the Centre on Barton were long delayed after a staff shortage.
Richardson acknowledged residents' frustration with the booking portal and noted 16 additional people have been hired to the city's vaccine hotline, where residents can also book appointments.
Still, she said it will take until at least the end of January for all eligible Hamiltonians to receive a booster shot - even if supply remains steady and doses are upped to 8,000 a day.
We know it's frustrating right now ... We ask people to remain patient," said Richardson, advising people to also look for openings through local pharmacies.
Meanwhile, heightened demand for COVID tests last week saw the city's assessment centres fill to capacity. By Monday afternoon, appointments were no longer able to be booked online after available slots - some two weeks in advance - were taken.
Very much what happens in those assessment centres is going to be a function of how many cases there are, and right now we're at a situation where they're very much pressured," said Richardson.
Richardson added public health is in contact with the province to mitigate the issue, including possibly prioritizing tests for people who are symptomatic.
Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com