New Westminster's vaccination rates are continuing to inch upwards – but progress is slow.
As of Oct. 5, 86% of eligible residents (aged 12+) had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. That's up from 85% last week, continuing a trend of inching up by one percentage point a week. First-dose rates, meanwhile, stalled at 91%, the same as last week and up just slightly over 90% the week before that.
The youngest age group eligible for vaccine is the 12-to-17-year-old crowd. That age group is now 80% fully vaccinated, up from 78% last week. Eighty-eight per cent have received at least one dose, the same as last week.
Meanwhile, younger adults (the 18-to-49 group) continue to inch their way towards the 50+ group: 85% of the younger group is now fully vaccinated, up from 84% last week. The 50+ group remained at 87%, the same as last week. For one-dose rates, the younger group now has a higher vaccination rate than the older, with this week's rates coming in at 92% and 90%, respectively (the same as last week).
British Columbia's main vaccine rollout was age-based, meaning older residents have been eligible for vaccination longer than those in younger age groups.
B.C.'s health officials are continuing to stress the importance of vaccination as the way out of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So far, children under 12 remain ineligible for vaccine, although provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has said she's hopeful that the five-to-11 age group will be immunized this calendar year – and possibly as early as late October. Pfizer submitted its preliminary data regarding children age five to 11 to Health Canada on Friday, Oct. 1.
– with files from Canadian Press
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