WINDSOR, ONT. -- Windsor residents in two "hot spot" postal codes lined up Monday morning for pop-up clinics available to those living or working in the area.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit ran the clinics for those 18 and older living or working in the postal codes N9A and N9C. The clinics were available for walk-up only with no appointment required.
“It’s a pretty exciting day to be offering this to people living in an area that otherwise wouldn’t be able to access the vaccine, based on the age or even the ability to book,” WECHU CEO Theresa Marentette said.
The pop-ups at the St. Angela Centre and Hall at 750 Erie Street East and Mackenzie Hall at 3277 Sandwich Street West were set to run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or until vaccine supply lasts. The WECHU issued a news release around 1 p.m. saying they had reached the end of their vaccine allocation for the clinics.
Those who had received an appointment card indicating their time Monday can still attend their scheduled time.
“As far as the response today and the ability to bring the vaccine to people in neighbourhoods that really want to be able to attend a vaccine site and have the ability at 18 years of age or older, that’s pretty exciting,” Marentette said. “Not excited about line-ups but recognizing that’s the model we have and hopefully people are having, you know, not too bad of an experience today.”
She said health unit staff was monitoring the line at both locations to ensure those waiting would not be in line if there was no vaccine dose available to them.
The health unit needed to allocate more vaccine supply to Mackenzie Hall due to a great response in that area.
Originally there had been 300 doses for that clinic based on timing and the health unit’s ability to vaccinate, but had provided about 150 additional doses.
WECHU says public health measures were in place to ensure everyone’s safety. Those attending must wear a mask at all times, sanitize their hands and practice physical distancing from others.
Vaccine eligibility has also been expanded for those 18 and older in hot spot zones as well as those 50 and older anywhere in the region.
“For those attending the pop-up today, it is really reassuring to know that they will have that ability to book online and get vaccinated at one of the clinics that are actually in a hot spot area,” Marentette said.
Appointments can be booked online through the WECHU website which also also offers additional information on the vaccine and the roll-out plan.
