More than half of the adults in the Porcupine Health Unit region have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to medical officer of health Dr. Lianne Catton.
Yesterday, the health unit reported 34,669 people 18 years and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 1,338 people being fully vaccinated.
"COVID-19 vaccines remain a key component of our strategy to end this pandemic and the number of Porcupine Health Unit region residents that have come forward and rolled up their sleeves has been encouraging," said Catton in a news release.
"Our vaccination rates, and the speed of our vaccine rollout, remains on par with, or in some instances further ahead than the provincial average."
Even with vaccines, Catton reminded people to continue following public health measures.
As the vaccine rollout moves ahead, there has been a surge of local cases recently with the third wave of the pandemic.
As of yesterday, there had been 734 confirmed cases of the virus in the region. Of those, 566 are recovered and 26 people have died. There are 142 known active cases, most of which are in Timmins.
Today's provincial numbers will be available at 10:30 a.m. The Porcupine Health Unit updates local numbers around noon.
There are COVID-19 assessment centres in Timmins, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls, Matheson, Kapuskasing, Smooth Rock Falls, Hearst, and Hornepayne, as well as communities on the James Bay coast.
The Porcupine Health Unit COVID-19 information line can be reached at 705-360-4819 or 1-800-461-1818.
People eligible for a vaccine can register for upcoming clinics in the region here. Select pharmacies are also delivering the vaccine. Find a list of those and book an appointment here.
There is a provincial shutdown and stay-at-home order in effect.
