Waterloo Region COVID-19 booster uptake below national average
CTV
Nationally, 15 per cent of Canadians have received the latest version of the COVID-19 booster vaccine. In Waterloo Region, 11 per cent of residents have gotten a booster dose in the last six months.
Residents in Waterloo Region are not keeping up with the national rate for COVID-19 booster shots.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, as of Dec. 3, 14.6 per cent of Canadians have received the latest version of the COVID-19 booster shot, which targets the Omicron XBB.1.5 sub variant. That includes 15.1 percent of Canadians 5 years and older.
In Waterloo Region, as of Dec. 9, 10.9 percent of residents have received a COVID-19 booster dose in the last six months. Based on age range, just 0.3 percent of kids aged zero to 11 are up to date on their vaccinations, while 12.2 percent of people 12 years and older have received the latest booster.
“I wouldn’t say that it’s surprising, because in any case almost all the provinces are having a low rate of booster vaccination,” said Zahid Butt, an infectious disease epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Waterloo.
According to current guidelines, Region of Waterloo Public Health recommends 71 per cent of residents should receive an additional dose.
“We need to have this annual COVID-19 shot, similar to the flu shot where it takes into account all the current variants at a particular point in time,” Butt said.
Butt said the slower rates could be a number of reasons.
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