It was a full parking lot at the Meridian Community Centre (MCC) last Thursday, as Niagara Region Public Health conducted a COVID-19 vaccination clinic. The MCC event was one of ten scheduled on a rotating basis in April throughout Niagara. Travel to vaccination clinics is exempt from the province’s emergency stay-at-home edict. (Additional Niagara clinic dates have been added for April.)
Courtney Westerhof, a communications consultant with Niagara Health, told the Voice that just over 1000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were administered at the Pelham site. Nine hundred and ninety five injections were given to those 65 years of age and older, while eight healthcare workers were given prioritized jabs. Pelham residents represented 52 percent of the clinic patients, with 27 percent from Welland, and the remainder from other parts of the region.
To date, some 100,000 doses have been administered to Niagara residents. Close to 92 percent of those over age 80 in the region have received a first shot, and 100 percent of seniors in long-term care and high-risk retirement homes have been vaccinated.
Second-shot appointments are booked for dates approximately four months from the first dose. The booking system at the MCC gave a July 29 appointment date for the follow-up jab.
“The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has provided a recommendation to extend the vaccination dose interval up to 16 weeks for the three two-dose vaccines currently approved by Health Canada, while maintaining a strong and sustained level of protection from COVID-19,” said Westerhof. She noted that the Ontario government is following the evidence and recommendations from the NACI to extend the vaccination dose interval up to four months for the three two-dose vaccines currently approved by Health Canada —Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD.
“This clinic ran very smoothly,” said Westerhof. “There were very few lineups, and the vaccinations progressed at a good pace. Many people thanked us, and told us how well organized they found the clinic to be.”
The Voice heard much the same in conversations outside the MCC, as seniors provided rave reviews about the speedy treatment they received once inside the building.
The same can’t be said for the registration process, as many seniors detailed significant frustration attempting to book an appointment online or by phone.
“The booking system is operated by the provincial government, and there were hiccups in the early days when most residents registered,” said Westerhof.
Niagara Region’s Acting Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji, told the St. Catharines Standard last week that online and 1-800 number logjams could have been avoided if local public health units had been allowed to load their own clinic dates and times via the province’s registration portal, a task currently handled by provincial staff. When residents eventually managed to access the system, they learned all Niagara’s clinics were booked solid. Another factor is that thousands of clinic appointments have been reserved for teachers and other education personnel over spring break.
Hirji expects close to 150,000 Niagara residents to be vaccinated by the end of the month.
Clyde McCombs and his wife, Constance, were two Pelham seniors who received their vaccinations last week. The couple has been married for 71 years, and they still live in the Fonthill house on Pancake Lane where Clyde was born in 1927. Constance attended the clinic in a wheelchair, and was assisted by their son Leonard, 64, who is still waiting for an appointment for his injection. He confided that he was “a little leery” of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine, due to some worrisome reports in the media.
Clyde bluntly assessed the registration process.
“It was no good. We don't have a computer, so we called the 1-800 number, but they wouldn't accept us because we didn’t have an email address. I had to get a nephew to arrange the appointment. He got everything done, but it was frustrating. We’ve talked to a lot of older people who said the same thing.”
Inside the MCC, Clyde said the process was, “fantastic…very smooth and professional…the people are just great.”
Clyde said he could barely feel the injection.
“I don't know how they can get all that juice in the hole in the needle…you don't feel a thing.”
The McCombs received an instruction sheet with details for monitoring their health post-vaccination, and information on the second jab to come this summer.
Asked if she feels confident that, freshly vaccinated, she has plenty of years ahead of her, Constance smiled and replied, “Yes, I think so!”
Niagara Health encourages all residents, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated, to practice public safety protocols to help stop the spread of COVID-19. These measures include continuing wearing a mask, washing hands often, staying at least two metres from others, avoiding non-essential travel and contact with others outside the household, and self-isolating when sick.
Some pharmacies in Niagara are currently vaccinating residents 55 years of age and older with the AstraZeneca vaccine. To book an appointment, go to https://covid-19.ontario.ca/vaccine-locations.
Questions about vaccination may be directed to the COVID-19 Info-Line at 905-688-8248.
