Unvaccinated residents 22 times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 in Ottawa

OTTAWA -

Unvaccinated Ottawa residents are 22 times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 compared with fully vaccinated residents, new data suggests.

Ottawa Public Health introduced new COVID-19 data on its dashboard showing the risk of infection among the unvaccinated, vaccine-eligible population in Ottawa.

Of the 122 cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa among vaccine-eligible residents between July 18 and Aug. 21, 80 cases were identified in unvaccinated residents or residents who received a COVID-19 vaccine under 14 days before testing positive.

Twenty-six cases were identified in partially vaccinated residents, while 16 fully vaccinated residents tested positive.

According to Ottawa Public Health, there were an estimated 154,333 residents 12 and older in Ottawa not vaccinated in the period of July 18 to Aug. 21, while 668,736 people were fully vaccinated.

That means the rate of COVID-19 infection among unvaccinated residents was 51.9 cases per 100,000, compared to 2.4 cases per 100,000 among fully vaccinated residents.

As of Wednesday, 78 per cent of Ottawa residents 12 and older had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and are considered fully vaccinated.