As of Tuesday March 9, Durham Health had booked a total of 3,555 appointments for residents who are 80 years and older at the Pickering and Clarington clinic sites, according to Durham Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Robert Kyle.
He said Durham Health is “very pleased that we have started vaccinating seniors in our community”.
Beginning Monday, bookings opened to residents who are 80 and older, or those who are turning 80 this year, at one of three local vaccination clinics located at:
- Durham College/Ontario Tech University Campus Ice Centre in Oshawa, operated by Lakeridge Health
- Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex in Clarington
- Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex in Pickering
Additional vaccination clinics will be opening next week, said Dr. Kyle.
The Durham College/Ontario Tech University site in Oshawa is fully booked until March 17 and is closed for new bookings as Lakeridge Health reviews vaccine allocations and delivery schedules.
However. residents can visit covidvaccine.lh.ca or call 905-721-4828 for updates. Eligible seniors or those assisting them to book an appointment can visit durham.ca/vaccineappointment or call 1-888-444-5113. Please note that vaccination clinics are by appointment only and those without an appointment will be turned away, said Dr. Kyle.
Next priority groups
“Each day, we are seeing appointments book-up quickly, with no appointments being available within just a few minutes. Appointment availability depends on vaccine supply. We are expecting additional vaccine from the province in the coming days,” he said. “In the coming weeks, we will provide information about mobile clinics for individuals who may have difficulty accessing larger clinics, as well as information about the next priority groups eligible for receiving vaccines.”
Unfortunately, we continue to see new cases of Covid-19 daily across the region and the Health Department’s Covid-19 response efforts related to case and contact management are still ongoing. As the scope of Durham Region Health Department’s Covid-19 response expands to address both vaccine administration and case and contact management, the Health Department is receiving assistance from the Provincial Workforce for case and contact management. Residents who test positive for Covid-19 may receive follow-up calls from the Provincial Workforce as well as a text message, asking them to complete a voluntary assessment form. Completing this helps Durham Region Health Department with the important work of contact tracing. All information collected is kept confidential and protected by Ontario’s strict privacy laws and will only be used for public health purposes. Thank you for your cooperation with public health staff as you are helping to prevent others from getting ill, said Durham Medical Officer of Health.
“Please continue to follow public health measures to help stop the spread of illness in our community, stay at home as much as possible, avoid social gatherings and, where possible, work remotely. Any non-essential travel should be avoided, even between public health measure zones, as it will greatly increase the potential for spikes in community spread and undo all the progress we have made,” he added.