Please, Please be careful!

2169 new cases in Ontario today

2380 new cases yesterday

This is a third wave. But this time, most of the new cases are variants of concern ( 54%). The majority of the new variants are the B.1.1.7. variant or the UK variant. We have evolving evidence that the vaccines we are presently using are effective against this variant.

Yesterday marked the highest daily COVID-19 case count in 2 months. Two hundred and eighty of these cases were cases attributable to a "data catch-up process" in the province's system. But, even with these cases removed from the total, it is still the highest daily case count in two months and today is not much better.

This is what we need to be so concerned about: There is a growing body of international research that suggests that these variants can have dire health consequences with patients presenting that are both younger and more seriously ill.

Variants of the COVID-19 virus double the risk of someone being admitted to intensive care and increase the risk of death by roughly 60 per cent. These stats have come out of a new analysis of recent Ontario data from the province's science advisory table.

Variants are changing the game.

It's a risky numbers game.

These more dangerous variants could cause more serious illnesses and deaths regardless of your age or pre-existing health issues, even among a younger, healthier cohort.

That's the bad news and it's the reason we cannot let go of adhering to public health restrictions. Easter is my favourite sacred celebration and Good Friday is a high point in our family with a house full of people decorating Easter eggs the old fashioned, Ukrainian way. This will be the second Easter that will pass without the highlights and celebrations of the season.

We have lost so much. We are all so tired of this pandemic. At the beginning, I refused to believe we were entering a 'new normal' but we did. What troubles me is that I am getting used to this new normal and I am forgetting what the old normal was like.

That may be a good thing, this surrender to our present circumstances. Surrender makes us all settle into living in the moment. It can bring us peace and give us a resilience we did not think was possible. It will get us through. Today is done. Tomorrow is a new day. Let go of the past and don't reach too far into the future, just live here and now.

But, look ahead to the hope that is just around the corner.

Ontario saw another record day for COVID-19 vaccinations this week. Public health units collectively administered 79, 446 doses on Thursday.

Ontario has now given out more than 98 per cent of the 1,780,135 doses of vaccines it has received thus far from the federal government.

Canada has administered 4,723,256 vaccines as of today.

That's up from 4,195,000 doses given on March 23rd. That's half a million people in three days. We will vaccinate many more than that in the coming weeks but the sheer logistical effort required to vaccinate this many in three days is unprecedented. And, we are doing it.

Our health unit, is outstanding, literally. In Guelph Wellington Dufferin we have administered over 42,000 vaccines. That's over 6,000 in the last three days with all three mass vaccination clinics stepping into high gear this week with plans to extend clinic hours to 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Our goal is to have everyone vaccinated by mid-June. The infrastructure required for this is in place. Now we need more vaccines and they will arrive.

I love the graph found in this link:

https://bit.ly/3svBGYU

BAM....that is remarkable. Fourteen percent of the people in our unit have been vaccinated. We need to get to seventy- five percent. Your health care team is exhausted. Pray for them. Super-human strength and resilience is what we all need to keep going.

To win this risky numbers game, stay home. No more than 10 can gather in your home and the folks that do not belong to your household need to wear masks and stay six feet apart. We are hosting our Good Friday gathering outside this year. Just a short 'Hello' and a toast but at least we will keep the tradition going.

Keep it up. Please be ever so careful. Give us the time we need to get everyone vaccinated........mid-June. We can do this!

Anne-Marie

Please share

Please note, people 60 and above in the WDG health unit can now register online. Be patient. It may take four to six weeks before your appointment is confirmed.

Here is the link to register online:

https://register.wdgpublichealth.ca/

For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here:

https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/

And if you'd like to help Bracelet of Hope work towards making sure that Lesotho has access to these vaccines, donate here:

https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-

Now, as Ontario is relaxing rules around indoor shopping, dining and other forms of gatherings in various areas, Evans and Morris both said some regions — and younger populations — largely spared in the first two waves of the pandemic could be harder hit the third time around.

COVID-19 variants could soon dominate in B.C., health experts warn

"It's hard for people to continue to just be holed up in their homes," said Morris. "Perhaps the right thing to do is to just encourage people to spend as much of their time outdoors as possible."

Discuss the 16 week delay between vaccines

number of people who have received the first dose in Ontario and Canada.

Daily vaccines in our area and percentage of vaccinated people- great work

The variants of concern.

VAccine arrivals

Graph showing the rates of covid concerns decline as immunizations rise

Other vaccines and COVID vaccines

Prolia and COVID vaccines

New studies showing a greater efficacy of AZ vaccine- 76 %

Why the numbers change: Larger trials. Trials done in populations with a higher incidence of COVID 19 vs a lower incidence of COVID-19 and real world trials in real time vs phase III trials in study subjects

Trials are ongoing with larger and larger numbers of people being studied which improves the accuracy of results.