75 per cent of Ottawa adults have received one COVID-19 vaccine dose
Three-quarters of Ottawa adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, but the city's top doctor says vaccine coverage is not enough to stop the spread of the virus.
Mayor Jim Watson tweeted Thursday morning that 75 per cent of Ottawa adults 18 and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. As of Wednesday, 63 per cent of Ottawa residents 12 and over had received at least one dose.
Ottawa hitting the 75 per cent vaccination mark comes less than a week after Ottawa entered Step One of the COVID-19 reopening plan, allowing patios and non-essential businesses to open.
In an interview on CTV News at Six with Graham Richardson Wednesday evening, medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches acknowledged the COVID-19 signal is rising in the wastewater, which would be expected as things open up.
"What we're more concerned about is if that translates into a sustained rise, rapid uptick that's been associated with hospitalizations," said Dr. Etches.
"What's protecting us against that is largely the vaccines, but it's not enough. So the vaccination rate for our whole population is about 63 per cent, that is good. That means all those vaccinated people are less likely to get severely illness, less likely to be hospitalized even when COVID is spreading."
As Ontario accelerates the timeline for residents to receive their second dose, Dr. Etches said it's important for everyone to get fully vaccinated. The city of Ottawa has said 200,000 appointments were booked at COVID-19 vaccination sites between June 1 and July 6.
"We need the two doses really to be able to maximally protect the population. We also need this coverage to be even, we don't want pockets of the community that aren't protected as much and so that's where COVID flares up," said Etches.
In a separate interview on Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron, Etches said while the vaccines are protecting people from getting serious illness and transmitting the virus to other people, it's "probably not enough yet" to let our guard down.
"I just want to encourage people that caution is still needed, we still need folks to think about, can you keep the number of close contacts you have limited," said Etches.
"So it's growing, when you think back over the last week – can you think about how many close contacts and try to keep that lower as we still need a bit more."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
BREAKING 14 suspects arrested in grandparent scam targeting seniors across Canada: Ontario police
An interprovincial investigation into a 'grandparents scam' that targeted seniors across Canada has led to the arrest of 14 suspects, Ontario Provincial Police say.
B.C. child killer's lawyer walks out of review hearing
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Juror dismissed in Trump hush money trial as prosecutors ask for former president to face contempt
Prosecutors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump asked Thursday for the former president to be held in contempt and fined because of seven social media posts that they said violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses.
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
It's the biggest election in history. Here's why few Indians in Canada will take part
In the Indian general election that gets underway on Friday, almost a billion people are eligible to vote, but a vast majority of the overseas Indian community in Canada won't be casting a ballot.
McDonald's customers left with 'zero value' collection of free hot drink stickers after company ends program
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.