Some people in Hamilton can get their 4th COVID-19 dose as a new wave emerges

As another wave of infection emerges, some Hamiltonians can get their fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

People eligible for the fourth dose include anyone 60 and older, and Indigenous people and their household members who are 18 and older.

Hamilton public health recommends peoplewait five months after receiving the third dose before getting the new one, though they can get it after just three months.

"We anticipate demand will be higher than available capacity for those eligible at the three-month interval," public health said in a media release.

"Due to a high volume of eligible individuals, we ask that individuals check back daily for available appointments."

You can book appointments two weeks in advance and new appointments are being added daily. You can schedule a shot online, call 905-974-9848, option 7 or check with local pharmacies.

Public health says vaccination, along with other measures like masking and distancing, can improve your chances of avoiding infection and severe symptoms.

Why is there another wave of COVID-19?

Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton's medical officer of health, said at a Tuesday board of health meeting that the latest wave is caused by a more infectious subvariant of COVID-19 called BA.2and the recent drop in some public health measures such asmasking and capacity limits.

Various city metrics to monitor the virus show things are getting worse.

"COVID-19 is going to continue to circulate out past the end of June 2022, so as we've said many times, COVID is not going away," she said on Tuesday.

City data shows about 90 per cent of people over 12 have one shot and 88 per cent have two, but just 54 per cent have a third dose.

Richardson also said vaccination rates seem to be stuck for those aged five to 11. About53 per cent have one dose and 36.2 per cent are double vaccinated.

Hospitalizations are slowly on the rise, according to city epidemiologistErin Rodenburg.

There are 41 patients with the virus at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and as of Wednesday there were 14 infected patients at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton. There are also seven patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) between both hospital networks.

The city's Scarsin forecasting predictsroughly 400 new hospitalizations between April 4 and Jun 30, with the majority of those being people aged 60 to 79.

Richardson said she is hopeful the ICU and death figures will stay low due to the effectiveness of vaccines.

But there's a rise in the number of staff self-isolating.

HHS has 498 workers in isolation while St. Joe's has 220 in isolation as of Wednesday.

Richardson said even though public health measures are decreasing, the best way to protect yourself is to continue wearing a mask, distancing, properly washing your hands and getting vaccinated.