The COVID-19 vaccination rate is Windsor-Essex is moving along quicker than expected.
Local Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed says the goal was to be at 70 per cent by this time, but the region has reached 74 per cent of the population with at least one dose and it's believed another two to three per cent have been vaccinated in the U.S.
Ahmed says the public is taking vaccinations seriously.
"That's a pretty good coverage rate. Obviously, I would want, if possible, 100 per cent, but anything more than 70 per cent was something that I felt was important to achieve," he says. "So it's important and critical that we achieve at least 70 per cent."
Ahmed says 80 per cent is quickly approaching.
"I hope, with the current rate we're moving at, we should be able to hit the 80 per cent target," he says. "As we talk about some of these high priority neighbourhoods, high priority communities, there will be more work that needs to be done. So maybe we can push it further even into the 90s."
Ahmed says 20 to 40-year-olds are lagging behind.
"We are pushing it towards the 80 per cent which is pretty much the average in the 40-plus group. The younger population between 20 and 40, that's the group that has a slightly lower coverage rate. So we need more messaging, we need more campaigning to engage them," he adds.
As of June 23, a total of 391,608 doses of the vaccine had been administered with nearly 122,000 local residents receiving both doses.