Live at 3:30 p.m.: Hinshaw to provide update on Alberta’s response to COVID-19
Hinshaw #Hinshaw
Second doses of COVID-19 vaccines made up nearly half the shots administered Wednesday, as thousands of Albertans who received a first dose in March showed up for another vaccination.
More than 22,000 eligible Albertans were given a second dose Wednesday, by far the most to receive a second shot in a single day. Eleven per cent of Albertans age 12 and over are now fully immunized with both shots.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said Thursday that the vaccines work “better than we could have expected.”
“For months now, I and other medical experts have stressed the importance of getting a vaccine. This is because vaccines work, they save lives, and they are our path out of this pandemic,” Hinshaw said during Thursday’s news conference.
Hinshaw said 96 per cent of all confirmed cases in Alberta since Jan. 1 were either unvaccinated or diagnosed within two weeks of receiving their first shot — which is when immunity is still building.
In that same time frame, 93 per cent of those with COVID-19 who ended up in hospital were not vaccinated or were within the two-week period after their vaccine.
Of the 706 deaths due to COVID-19 reported since Jan. 1, 88 per cent were of people who had not received the vaccine or were diagnosed within two weeks of their shot.
“These numbers reinforce just how important vaccines are,” Hinshaw said.
“We can expect both the number of hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 to decrease even more, as more of the population is protected by first and second doses.”
Second doses opened to those who received the vaccine in March or earlier on Tuesday. In addition to the 22,777 second shots administered through the end-of-day Wednesday, Alberta also gave 23,449 first doses.
More than 2.8 million doses of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered in Alberta, and 2,458,516 people — or 64.6 per cent of eligible Albertans — have received at least one shot.
Hinshaw said it’s estimated that post-infection immunity currently sits at about 12 to 14 per cent based on results of recent serology studies. It is still recommended that people who had COVID-19 receive both doses of vaccine “to improve their overall immunity,” she said.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he is focused on getting Calgarians vaccinated, which he said includes the drop-in vaccination clinic open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at Village Square Leisure Centre.
“We’ve got 5,000 doses and we want to get all 5,000 of those into people’s arms,” Nenshi said.
Alberta reported 296 new cases on Thursday, while the number of active cases across the province dropped below 6,000.
The test positivity rate dropped to 4.6 per cent Thursday, as another 6,808 tests were completed.
There are 5,831 total active cases, including 2,379 in the Calgary zone.
As Alberta labs begin screening every positive case for variants of concern again this week, case investigators will also resume second calls for those with a variant case, unless it’s the B.1.1.7 strain.
“It remains critical to minimize transmission of all COVID-19 cases. We want to pay particular attention to the lower volume variants of concern,” said Hinshaw.
“In these cases, we have opportunities for more aggressive containment.”
The B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the U.K. is Alberta’s dominant strain.
With the current data, 3,300 of Alberta’s active cases are confirmed variants, though that number is likely higher because thorough variant screening resumed just this week.
Hinshaw said the mRNA vaccines are proving highly effective in Alberta against the variants of concern.
A first dose is up to 73 per cent effective against the B.1.1.7 variant, and adding a second boosts that immunity to about 91 per cent, Hinshaw said.
The numbers are similar for the P.1 strain, first identified in Brazil, with a first shot giving 75 per cent protection and a second dose bumping effectiveness to 89 per cent.
There isn’t enough data in Alberta to determine the effectiveness of AstraZeneca against these variants, or to estimate the effectiveness of any vaccine against the emerging strains.
“I hope this data from here at home in Alberta helps demonstrate just how powerful these COVID-19 vaccines are,” said the province’s top doctor.
“I also hope it motivates more people to get protected with their first and second doses as soon as they can.”
Hospitalizations declined again Thursday. There are 411 patients receiving treatment for COVID-19 in hospital, including 120 in intensive-care units. This is down from 435 hospitalizations Wednesday , including 122 in ICUs.
The five deaths reported Thursday bring the death toll to 2,236.
The City of Calgary released that seven more tickets have been issued in the past week to those violating the city’s mandatory mask bylaw. Earlier this week, the fine for breaking the bylaw increased to $500 for a first offence and $1,000 for a second.
A total of 505 of these tickets have been issued since the temporary bylaw took effect on Aug. 1, 2020.
Also in the past week, an additional ticket for violating the Public Health Act was issued.
— With files from Madeline Smith
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