By the end of the month, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health’s goal of having 75 per cent of eligible residents vaccinated against COVID-19 will be achieved, believes medical officer of health Dr. Nicola Mercer.
“We’ve had one of our biggest weekends of vaccination,” she told Guelph city council on Monday, during a committee of the whole meeting. “We are making progress one vaccine at a time.”
During the weekend, including Friday, nearly 11,000 people in the health unit’s area received a dose of vaccine, bringing the region to 66.4 per cent of eligible people aged 12 and older who have received at least one dose of vaccine. Nearly six per cent of eligible residents have received two doses.
“We’re getting there,” Mercer said of achieving the goal of 75 per cent of eligible residents being vaccinated, encouraging people in their 20s and 30s not to “be shy” and to roll up their sleeve. “Everyone who wants a vaccine can get one.”
Pointing to projections, she believes Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph will reach that goal, which includes having 20 per cent of eligible residents with two vaccinations, by June 28.
In order to hit the 75 per cent mark, 202,000 people must be vaccinated, meaning about 2,500 more are needed.
On May 27, Mercer told Wellington County council 12,000 people needed to be vaccinated.
Earlier on Monday, the provincial government announced step one of a three-step reopening plan will happen Friday, several days ahead of plans.
When that happens, outdoor dining will once again be allowed, with no more than four people at a table.
Responding to a question from Coun. Mark MacKinnon, Mercer explained there’s no legislative requirement for those four people to be from the same household and could, in theory, be from four different households.
