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No hospitalizations from N.J. Macpherson outbreak: OCPHO

The outbreak of COVID-19 at N.J. Macpherson School has not led to any hospitalizations thus far.
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There have been no hospitalizations following the COVID-19 outbreak at N.J. Macpherson School, said Office of the Chief Public Health Officer spokesperson Darren Campbell, on May 10. NNSL photo

The outbreak of COVID-19 at N.J. Macpherson School has not led to any hospitalizations thus far.

The cluster of infections connected to the elementary school, located on Range Lake Road, spread from one case on May 1 to 51 cases as of May 10, when chief public health officer Dr. Kami Kandola said there were three additional probable cases.

More than 90 per cent of the cases are youth under 18 years of age, 65 per cent of whom are experiencing symptoms.

However, the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer wouldn’t comment further on the condition of people who contracted COVID-19 during the outbreak due to patient confidentiality, said spokesperson Darren Campbell.

“We can confirm that there are partially or fully-vaccinated people in the NWT who contracted COVID-19,” Campbell said, declining to specify numbers of vaccinated individuals who have the virus or whether they’re connected to the outbreak.

One of the few publicly known individuals who caught COVID-19 after receiving at least one vaccine dose is Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh MLA Steve Norn. The MLA posted on Facebook on March 26 that he had received his first dose of the Moderna vaccine but announced weeks later that he and a family member had contracted COVID-19 following a trip to Alberta.

The news about no hospitalizations from COVID-19 came shortly after Kandola said in a public service announcement that even fully-vaccinated individuals should follow public health measures, including orders to self-isolate.

The Moderna vaccine prevents 94 per cent of infections 14 days or more after the second dose, and the Pfizer-BioNTech prevents 95 per cent, but in settings of very high exposures to coronavirus, people could still develop infections even if fully vaccinated, Kandola said.

Campbell further clarified that the risk of infection for fully-vaccinated individuals is about one-tenth the risk of non-vaccinated individuals

As an example, he said that if 20 to 30 per cent of unvaccinated household contacts develop COVID-19, then about two to three per cent of of vaccinated household contacts will develop COVID-19.