Optimism over vaccine plans, and concern over hospitalisation rates

Nov 24, 2021

Residents of Frontenac County with children between 5 and 11 years old have a number of vaccine options available to them in the coming days and weeks.

On the Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Public Health (KFLAPH) website. Kflaph.ca, the vaccine booking page has been updated with options at special clinics in the City of Kingston and in Frontenac County, and appointments can also be booked at selected pharmacies.

In the Frontenac News readership area, pharmacies with vaccine available for the 5-11 year-old cohort include the Inverary, Harrowsmith, and Sharbot Lake Pharmasave stores.

The Sydenham Medical Clinic is taking appointments at 613-376-3327

Special clinics have also been organised for early December, including a clinic at Granite Ridge Education Centre on Thursday, December 2, from 3pm – 7pm, and at the Verona Medical Clinic on Wednesday, December 8 from 4pm – 8pm. (Note the Verona Medical Centre Clinic will be an SIA (Santa in Attendance) event.

And patients of the Lakelands Family Health Team in Northbrook will contacted by the clinic to book at an appointment at a clinic on December 10.

For complete information about available times and locations, and to book, go to https://www.kflaph.ca/en/healthy-living/covid-19-vaccine.aspx

Kingston continues to be the 4th wave hotspot in Frontenac County.

For the week of November 15 to 22, the were 177 new COVID cases confirmed for Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington.

Of those 159 were reported in Kingston, almost 90%. The makes the case rate in Kingston 127 per 100,000 residents, well into the old COVID red zone

South Frontenac is the next hardest hit jurisdiction in the region. There were 5 new cases confirmed over the weekend, and a total of 9 between Nov. 15-22. The seven-day case rate is 49.5 per 100,000, which would be on the border between the yellow and red zones.

There was a new case reported in Central Frontenac on Friday, November 19, the first in months. That makes for a weekly case rate of 22.2 per 100,000 in the township.

The only other cases in the KFL&A region were in Loyalist Township (6) and Greater Napanee (2)

KFLAPH also reported last week that the rate of infection among unvaccinated residents is 5.5 times the rate for vaccinated residents.

KFLAPH does not report on the percentage of vaccinated as opposed to unvaccinated people who are either in hospital or in the Intensive Care Unit, for two reasons. The numbers are small, making it hard to generate statistically accurate information. They are also concerned about confidentiality of patient information.

While the spike in COVID cases of the past few weeks seems to have reached a plateau in the region, with the active case rate sitting at about 200 for almost a week, the number of people who are very sick keeps going up.

As of Monday, there were 13 people in hospital, including 8 in the intensive care unit, and 5 on ventilators, which are all the highest numbers for the entire pandemic in KFL&H.