Dr. Hinshaw delivers COVID-19 update, including Halloween guidance

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She also again urged eligible Albertans to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible.

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“We continue to see that the majority of Albertans ending up in hospital, requiring care in ICU or dying from COVID-19 are unvaccinated,” Hinshaw said.

She praised the more than 230,000 who have gotten their third dose of vaccine in the past two weeks.

Hinshaw said she and AHS continue to address vaccine misinformation being shared on social media. She said that in particular, they are addressing questions about whether vaccines impact fertility and are safe for pregnant women.

“As I’ve said before, there is no evidence suggesting that these vaccines impact fertility in any way. Studies done on both male and female fertility outcomes after vaccine show no negative consequences,” she said.

Vaccines are also recommended for anyone who is pregnant or nursing, she said, adding the risk of severe outcomes for pregnant women has increased with variants of concern.

“Vaccines safety is a critical issue in pregnancy and data from thousands of women who have received vaccine has not shown any increased risk in pregnancy.”

Hinshaw will host a telephone town hall next week where she will be joined by other physicians to answer questions about vaccines, fertility and maternal health.

A registration link to the free town hall will be shared soon.

With Halloween 10 days away, Hinshaw asked Albertans to be wise and safe while celebrating.

She asked anyone who is sick to stay home, urged people not to have large gatherings and that any gatherings that do happen take place outside and observe attendance limits.

She asked those trick-or-treating to wear a mask and only go with members of their own household. Those handing out treats are also asked to wear a mask and consider contactless pickup.

MORE HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS

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CENTRAL ZONE

Red Deer has 403 active cases of COVID-19, up 21 from Wednesday. It’s the first time in eight days the active caseload locally has increased.

Meantime, recoveries in Red Deer rose by 32 to 8,368 as the total number of COVID-19 cases attributed to Red Deer rose by 53 in the last day to 8,844.

Red Deer’s death toll stemming from COVID-19 is now 73, with none reported today.

The Central Zone as a whole has 2,023 active cases as of Thursday, up 12 in the last day.

There are 174 hospitalizations, the same as yesterday, and 20 people receiving intensive care at Red Deer Regional Hospital, the same as yesterday.

Central Zone has recorded 342 deaths, including four reported in the last day.

Active cases across Central Zone (one-day change)

Red Deer County: 122 (+2)

Sylvan Lake: 55 (-4)

Lacombe County: 122 (-6)

City of Lacombe: 83 (-1)

Ponoka County: 252 (+18)

Brazeau County: 80 (-4)

Clearwater County: 138 (-3)

Mountain View County: 46 (-1)

Olds: 25 (+7)

Kneehill County: 70 (-1)

County of Stettler: 50 (+3)

VACCINATIONS

Alberta has delivered 6,406,177 vaccine doses as of Oct. 20, up 17,047 in the last day.

86. 3 per cent of Alberta’s eligible 12+ population has received at least one dose (73.4% total population), and 78.1 per cent of those eligible are fully vaccinated (66.4% total population).

In Red Deer, 71,880 (78.4% of eligible & 67.6% *total population) people have received at least one dose, up 82. Meanwhile, 64,881 (70.8%/61.0%) are fully vaccinated with two doses, up 263. (*Government of Alberta uses a population of 106,395 for Red Deer; of those 91,672 are eligible)

PROVINCIAL NUMBERS

The active caseload is now 10,434, down 390 from Wednesday. This with the province adding 770 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

With 11,874 tests conducted over the past 24 hours, the seven-day positivity rate is 7.16 per cent.

There are 912 people currently in hospital with COVID-19, down 16 from Wednesday, with 201 of those patients in ICU, down two from yesterday.

Of the 711 not in ICU, 431 are unvaccinated, 62 have had one dose, and 218 have had two doses.

Of the 201 in ICU, 169 are unvaccinated, nine have had one dose, and 23 have had two doses.

There have been eight additional deaths reported to Alberta Health in the last 24 hours, bringing the province’s death toll from the virus now to 3,014.

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SCHOOL OUTBREAK ALERT/OUTBREAK LIST – There are 288 schools with active cases of COVID, four of which are on outbreak (10+ cases), Hinshaw said Thursday.

WATCH DR. HINSHAW’S FULL UPDATE BELOW:

(with files from CHAT News Today)