1st dose or 2nd dose? York Region outlines ways to get your jab

Walk-in clinics being considered for those who still haven't booked 1st COVID-19 vaccine

Yorkregion.com
June 11, 2021
Kim Zarzour

Still haven’t got around to getting your vaccine?

York Region is looking for ways to help.

It could be a matter of life over death.

The region is making "tremendous progress" with vaccinations and COVID-19 cases are dropping, but York medical officer of health Dr. Karim Kurji says there are still a large number of deaths per week -- between 10 and 15 -- largely among unvaccinated individuals

A survey of 150 new cases in the region found more than half of those sick with the coronavirus said they had planned to get vaccinated but had not yet found the time to make an appointment, Kurji told York Region council June 10.

York Region Public Health is looking at different strategies to reach those stragglers, including walk-in facilities for those without first doses who have yet to reserve a time slot.

If you're still on the fence, and health concerns don't move you, maybe financial ones will.

Kurji says his "back of the envelope" calculation estimates taxpayers have paid at least $500 for each vaccine "and for individuals not to make use of that opportunity, even on a financial reason, is something they may want to consider".

Karen Antonio-Hadcock, director of York’s integrated business services, said the region expects most residents who choose to receive the vaccines will be fully vaccinated by the end of the summer.

At that point, mass immunization clinics may be closed and administering of vaccines will transition over to primary-care physicians and pharmacies.

Because the interval timing has been changing, second dose appointments are no longer booked at the time of first doses at York Region clinics, she said.

The provincial eligibility for second doses is currently restricted to those who are 70 and older or immunized before April 18. That may be accelerated depending on supply and demand, she said.

While original second dose appointments will be honoured, residents are encouraged to schedule earlier second doses when possible and, if you choose to book a second dose through a different clinic operator, you are asked to cancel your previously scheduled second dose appointment.

For second doses, you will have a choice of location, but the booking method varies depending on each operator, she said.

At York Region Public Health clinics and the Trisan Centre in Schomberg, residents can book appointments when they are eligible at York.ca/covid19vaccine and the region will cancel previous second dose appointments within their clinics.

Support is available through Access York, 1-877-464-9675.

For those who were vaccinated in long-term care homes, congregate living centres, workplaces and community pop-ups, mobile teams will make arrangements for second dose appointments with partner organizations.

Those who got their first shots at Soccer City in Whitchurch-Stouffville would not have received pre-booked second doses, Antonio-Hadcock said. They can book second doses when they become available on the region's portal.

If you got your shot at a hospital clinic, you can rebook your existing appointments or book a single earlier second dose. Support is available through the hospital contact centre.

The Cornell site in Markham offers second-dose booking through the provincial booking system, with support available through the provincial contact centre.

For pharmacies, residents may book directly through participating pharmacies.

Those who got AstraZeneca for their first doses can get second AstraZeneca dose appointments directly through pharmacies where they got their first doses, on a 12-week interval, based on the date of the first dose.

They may also book mRNA second doses, if they so choose, through their pharmacists or immunization clinics, when the 12-week interval arrives.

About 13,000 residents received first AstraZeneca doses at Trisan or Soccer City between April 15 and May 3. They will be eligible for second doses at the 12-week interval.

Supply for second doses of AstraZeneca through these clinics is yet to be confirmed, Antonio-Hadcock said.