Ottawa Public Health is reporting the city’s busiest week for COVID-19 vaccinations on record since the rollout began, including a major jump in the administration of second doses.
According to OPH’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard, 67,166 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered in Ottawa between May 16 and 22. The previous high point was 60,196 doses during the week of April 18, driven in large part by the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine at local pharmacies.
This past week was largely due to Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine delivery, though 14,198 Moderna shots were also administered.
The week of May 16 is also notable for a major ramp-up in the number of second doses administered.
OPH reports 9,866 second doses were given out last week: 9,628 Pfizer shots and 238 Moderna shots. Nearly 40,000 residents of Ottawa are now fully vaccinated.
The week prior saw 2,330 second doses administered, and just 798 second shots were given out the week before that. The previous high-point for second shots was the week of Feb. 7, when 6,355 second doses were administered during the city’s drive to vaccinate residents of long-term care homes.
According to OPH figures, 66,961 residents of Ottawa have yet to receive a second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Only 46 people in the city have had both so far. No doses of AstraZeneca were administered locally last week.
The Ontario government put a pause on first doses of AstraZeneca earlier in the month but the province’s chief medical officer of health said Friday that second doses would resume.
OPH data show 7,833 residents of Ottawa received the AstraZeneca vaccine elsewhere in Ontario and 37 of them have had both shots.
To date, 58 per cent of all adults in Ottawa have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and five per cent have had both.
On Sunday, the province opened up eligibility for vaccines to anyone 12 and older. Youth 12 to 17 are only eligible for the Pfizer vaccine, as it is the only vaccine currently approved for children in Canada.
