LETHBRIDGE, AB – It appears vaccine uptake in rural southern Alberta is seriously lagging behind the provincial average.
While 78.6 percent of eligible Albertans have gotten at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, only 60.6 percent of eligible Lethbridge County residents have rolled up their sleeve.
In the County of Warner, 60.1 percent of those 12 and older have gotten one dose and only 48.7 percent of eligible people living in the Municipal District of Taber are partially vaccinated.
The trend is similar when it comes to fully vaccinated people with those rural municipalities falling between 17 and 33 percent behind the provincial average of 70.6 percent.
In Lethbridge County, 55.5 percent are fully vaccinated, 52.9 percent of the eligible population in the County of Warner has gotten both shots, and only 44.2 percent of residents in the MD of Taber have received both doses.
Health officials warn this fourth wave of COVID-19 is predominately affecting unvaccinated individuals.
Active cases have begun to rise in those areas as well. Between Friday and Monday, the South Zone of Alberta Health Services reported 494 new cases.
The County of Lethbridge now has an active case count of 330.9 per 100,000 population, the County of Warner sits at 225.2 active cases per 100,000 population and the MD of Taber has 557.2 active cases per 100,000 population.
By comparison, the City of Lethbridge currently has 255.3 active cases per 100,000 population.
Lethbridge is ahead of the provincial curve when it comes to both partially and fully vaccinated residents.
As of Sept. 6, 81.6 percent of the eligible population has gotten one dose while 74.7 percent is fully vaccinated.
