Haldimand-Norfolk is seeing more COVID-19 variants, especially the UK version, and it’s affected younger residents
That was Paramedic Chief Sarah Page talking about the trend during a media call this week.
She leads the charge for COVID-19 vaccines in the region.
Several factors had lead to this increase in the younger demographic, from this population being on the front lines to the rise in COVID-19 variants.
Epidemiologist Dr. Kate Bishop-Williams was also on hand to take questions from the media, discussing the role that variants play.
Bishop-Williams said across the board, they are seeing numbers increase in the under 60 age group, while the older individuals who have received their shots have told a different story.
Page told the media that questions have been asked locally and abroad about moving around who is eligible for shots and when they can receive them.
The hope is to switch to focus on younger essential workers where case counts are rising.
Page said the Health Unit is completely dependant on the province to make such a move, and that they can’t decide to switch the vaccine rollout plan without their approval.
Right now, essential workers are not slated to get vaccinated until Mid-May at the earliest.
Looking at the data, the majority of active cases are in the younger age groups while those 70 and older hardly have any cases to note.
Those 19 and under account for 33 active cases in our region, those 20 to 29 account for 23 active cases, 30 t0 39 represents 18 active cases, 40 to 49 has 20 active cases, 60 to 69 has 13 active cases, 70 to 79 has 3 active cases, and 80 and over has 0 active cases.