Lambton Public Health's interim medical officer of health (MOH) is again appealing for residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the majority of cases are among people under the age of 40.
"This is the group we're pushing hard to try and get their immunization rates up, they're the lowest immunization rates," said Dr. Christopher Greensmith in his final media conference as acting MOH.
Lambton Public Health said 74 per cent of people between 12 and 39 years of age are vaccinated and 26 per cent are unvaccinated. A full breakdown provided by epidemiologist Siobhan Churchill can be found below.
Greensmith said most COVID-19 exposures have been linked to social gatherings and private residences.
Lambton Public Health reported two outbreaks this week. As of Thursday, there were 59 active cases in the region.
Greensmith said it's worrisome to see case rates trend upwards.
"We know that 20 of the variants of concern that we've isolated in the last 30 days are Delta Variant, which we know is more transmissible and causes more serious illness," he said.
Lambton Public Health continues to hold vaccine clinics. A walk-in clinic will be held on Saturday, September 25 at Lambton Mall, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Details about local vaccine clinics can be found by clicking, here.
As of September 22, Lambton Public Health reported that 74.9 per cent of eligible residents 12 and up were fully vaccinated, whereas 80.5 per cent of eligible residents had received one shot.
Greensmith said local vaccination rates are low compared to other health units in Ontario.
"This is a disappointment given the amount of work and the availability we've had with our clinics," he said. "We really do have to encourage people to get vaccinated still. We keep beating that drum, but it's the only major way of protecting yourself apart from social distancing and masking."
Although there are no COVID-19 patients currently receiving care at Bluewater Health, 193 people in Ontario are in intensive care due to COVID-19. Ontario's Health Minister said of those ICU patients, 12 are fully vaccinated. Of the 307 people hospitalized across the province with COVID-19, 34 are fully vaccinated.
Now that the federal election is over, Dr. Sudit Ranade is expected to return to the position of Lambton MOH on Monday.
Age distribution of eligible vaccinated and unvaccinated people provided by Lambton Public Health. September 23. 2021.
