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5 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,June 24,2021 insidehalton.com For a Free consultation call oakville: 905.842.2022 ToronTo: 416.644.3999 Denied Disabled Benefits? I canhelp. My teamof experienced lawyers can help youwith: •Disability Claims Short-TermDisability, long-TermDisability, CPP •Car accidents •Slip and Falls •Wrongful Dismissal Injured? I don't get paid unless I getYoumoneY. oFFiCeS in oakville and ToronTo eMail: sspadafora@slspc.ca Disability and EmploymEnt law Founded in 1991 Peter Watson MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM®, FCSI Jennifer Watson MBA, CFP®, CIM® Accepting new clients. Please visit www.watsoninvestments.com to book a free consultation. Offering safe virtual meetings and e-signatures for new client onboarding. "Our clients enjoy talking about their retirement dreams and we enjoy helping them get there." Peter & Jennifer info@watsoninvestments.com (905) 842 -2100 Halton health officials are re- porting that a small number of the region's residents who are ei- ther partially or fully vaccinated have been infected with CO- VID-19. According to Halton medical officer Dr. Hamidah Meghani, of the 404,323 Halton residents who were partially vaccinated with at least one dose between Jan. 1 and June 13, 421 people (0.1 per cent) developed symptomatic cases of COVID-19. There were also 37 "break- through" cases with symptoms in local residents who were fully vaccinated with both doses, she said. "No vaccine is perfect, so we expect to see some post-vaccina- tion cases, which are cases of CO- VID-19 where symptoms began after the person has been vacci- nated," she told regional council during its June 16 session. "As ex- pected, hospitalization has been very rare amongst Halton post- vaccination cases." She noted that unvaccinated people and those who were only recently vaccinated and have yet to build immunity "still account for the vast majority of new cases being reported and new hospital- izations." A recent report on the topic from Public Health Ontario (PHO) reveals that there have al- so been asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 in Halton among resi- dents who've received either one or both vaccine doses. The document indicates that between Dec. 14, 2020 and May 29, 2021, there were 79 asymptomatic cases in partially vaccinated Hal- ton residents, and 26 break- through cases. Across the province, 12,544 (0.15 per cent) out of the 8.3 mil- lion individuals who received at least one dose of the vaccine by May 29 became infected with CO- VID-19, while 1,521 people (0.02 per cent) who were fully vacci- nated contracted the virus. "The increasing trends in par- tially vaccinated and break- through cases are a reflection of both trends in vaccine adminis- tration (increasing number of doses administered over time) and trends in COVID-19 inci- dence," states the PHO report. The document notes that vac- cine effectiveness in preventing COVID-19 infection is estimated to be 60 to 80 per cent within three to four weeks of receiving one dose of Pfizer, Moderna or Astra- Zeneca vaccines -- a number that increases to "greater than 85 per cent" following a second dose. "While vaccines provide a high degree of protection from COVID-19 infection, it is expected that a small proportion of vacci- nated individuals may become in- fected as no vaccine is 100-per- cent effective," says the report. "When COVID-19 cases occur fol- lowing vaccination, there is evi- dence that vaccines reduce symp- tomatic infection, the severity of illness, as well as transmission." Back at council, Meghani said that public health staff is also tracking how many people are overdue for their second vaccine dose, meaning they received their first dose four or more months ago and still haven't re- turned for their next shot -- a fig- ure she said was sitting at 113 resi- dents. "We are monitoring those who have not received their vaccine series and exploring ways to en- courage them to receive their sec- ond dose," she said. For further details on vaccina- tions in Halton visit halton.ca/ COVIDvaccines. SOME VACCINATED RESIDENTS HAVE STILL CONTRACTED COVID-19: MOH Halton health officials say the vast majority of new COVID-19 cases being reported are amongst unvaccinated people. Evelyn Harford/Metroland MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@metroland.com NEWS