Mississauga hospitals treating more COVID-19 patients than anywhere else in Ontario
Published October 28, 2021 at 10:25 am
A reluctance among many southeast and south-central Mississauga residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 has led to more hospitalizations for the virus here than anywhere else in Ontario, Mayor Bonnie Crombie said this morning.
Speaking at the City of Mississauga’s weekly pandemic update, Crombie said the lower-than-average vaccination rates in those areas of the city have put unnecessary pressure on the city’s two hospitals.
Mississauga’s mayor and the Region of Peel’s medical officer of health, Dr. Lawrence Loh, said they’re troubled by those low vaccination rates.
Crombie initially identified a half-dozen underperforming Mississauga communities last week—Mississauga Valleys, Applewood, Fairview, Sheridan, Rathburn and Erindale.
Today, she again named Mississauga Valleys and Applewood, and added Burnhamthorpe, Dixie and Cooksville to the areas of concern.
The lower vaccination rates in those communities have “translated to unnecessary pressure on hospitals in Mississauga,” said Crombie, noting there are more COVID-19 cases at Mississauga’s hospitals than any other hospital in Ontario.
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She said Trillium Health Partners, which includes Mississauga and Credit Valley hospitals in addition to Queensway Health Centre in Etobicoke, is currently treating 22 COVID-19 patients in hospital beds, including five in intensive care.
By comparison, Brampton’s hospitals have eight patients, including one in ICU.
While the Mississauga numbers have improved from last week—31 hospitalizations, 10 in ICU—it’s still a troubling number to Crombie and Loh.
“Get vaccinated,” is their message to residents in those areas who haven’t already done so.
“The last thing we want to see is more restrictions in place because some people simply don’t want to get the vaccine,” said Crombie, adding Peel Public Health is increasing the presence of mobile vaccination clinics in the identified areas of Mississauga.
Loh said those areas of the city are seeing more outbreaks in schools and other locations.
“It’s a concerning trend,” he said, adding the lower-than-average vaccination rates create “a risk to lives and our healthcare system.”
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