By Haldimand Press staff
HALDIMAND—The Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU) is in the process of expanding their maximum capacity for daily vaccine administration appointments on a week-over-week basis in a bid to get as many people vaccinated and boosted in the shortest amount of time possible.
HNHU and its partners have administered over 187,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to date. The population over the age of 5 is now 81.1% vaccinated with at least one dose and 76.6% fully vaccinated. Over the last week, 6,479 shots were given locally.
HNHU is advising that, currently, there are a large number of appointments available using the the HNHU booking tool found at their website. Appointments are available at many different locations across the region and also at a number of pharmacies.
Being fully vaccinated and receiving a booster dose continues to be the most effective way to protect yourself from severe COVID-19 infection, including the Omicron variant.
A completed series reduces the likelihood of severe outcomes. A booster will further improve the likelihood of less severe outcomes.
Across the province, a shortage of the Pfizer vaccine continues with estimates indicating it will be at least a couple more weeks before it is more widely available again.
HNHU recommends individuals take the earliest available appointment, regardless of vaccine brand.
“Moderna is an excellent mRNA vaccine that is observed to be at least as effective at preventing illness and severe outcomes due to COVID-19 as Pfizer and early concerns about travel with mixed doses have been addressed by most governments,” said an HNHU press release.
Pfizer continues to be available for the 12-29 population and is available at certain pharmacies and in some primary care offices. Additional clinics will be added for this population if feasible.
Currently, the 5–11-year-old population in HNHU is 36.5% vaccinated with at least one dose, up 3% from last week. There are no supply concerns with the pediatric formulation of Pfizer.
Walk-ins will now be accepted at clinics offering Moderna for those 50 years and older. This includes a Moderna clinic at the Riverside Exhibition Centre in Caledonia from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
GO-VAXX will be offering pop-up indoor clinics at Dunnville Lifespan on Fridays in January. Appointments can be booked for indoor pop-ups at www.hnhu.org/popup.
Children’s vaccine clinics will be held in a variety of locations and will be available for booking on hnhu.org/popup. Clinics will initially be held in Simcoe, Caledonia, Delhi, Dunnville, and added to other communities as needed.
Lastly, several appointments are available at different mass clinic sites in Haldimand. They can also be booked at hnhu.org/popup.
