Ottawa leading Ontario in vaccinating children ages 5-11
One-quarter of Ottawa children between five and 11 years old have received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the highest rate of any public health unit in Ontario.
More than 19,000 newly eligible children have received their shots since appointments began last Friday, Ottawa Public Health says. That’s about 25 per cent of all children in that age group.
The rate outpaces the provincewide pace so far. As of Friday, nearly 155,000 Ontario children aged five to 11 had received their first doses—about 14.4 per cent.
Ottawa’s uptake among children is the highest among all of Ontario’s 34 public health units. Timiskaming is second at 23.7 per cent, and Algoma District is next at 22.4 per cent.
Ottawa Public Health has said it has the capacity to vaccinate 77,000 eligible children between five and 11 years old within four weeks. The uptake so far puts the health unit on pace to meet that goal.
"We remain confident that there is enough system capacity in Ottawa to ensure that any five to 11 child who would like a vaccine can receive a vaccine," OPH said in a statement Friday.
The health unit is ramping up efforts to vaccinate children beyond appointments at community clinics through the provincial portal.
It’s holding pop-up clinics at 73 different schools this month. They started yesterday and run through Dec. 23.
You can find a list of clinics happening this week here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.