With Niagara vaccine appointments fully booked, some people are heading to Hamilton

As vaccination appointments fill up in the Niagara region, some people there are booking spots in Hamilton. 

Niagara Region tweeted that its clinics were fully booked as of Thursday morning, attributing it to Ontario's booking portal opening up to Niagara residents aged 60 and over. 

But some people reported on social media that they've managed to snag spots if they're willing and able to head east.

A spokesperson for Niagara region public health confirmed that if people are using the provincial booking portal, it allows them to search for appointments anywhere in Ontario. Residents from Hamilton may book into Niagara clinics, the spokesperson said, and vice versa.

Hamilton Public Health Services says 12,073 — 12 per cent — of the 99,567 people who received first doses in Hamilton were residents of another health unit. There were 2,057 people with an unknown residence. 

They noted some of these people might be frontline healthcare workers who work in Hamilton or residents with outdated health cards. 

It's unknown how many Hamiltonians are heading elsewhere for their vaccinations. 

Niagara Health said it anticipates more spots between April 20 to May 7 will be added in the coming days, pending confirmation from the Ministry of Health. Appointments become available based on vaccine supply, it said. 

People told to stay-at-home but may have to travel to get vaccinated: Horwath

Leader of the Ontario NDP and Hamilton Centre MPP Andrea Horwath said while vaccines are needed in people's arms —and if there are open appointments, they need to be filled — there's also a stay-at-home order in place. 

The stay-at-home lists getting vaccinated as an essential reason to leave your home, but it also says individuals should remain in their local communities. 

"Once again this speaks to the mixed messages that come from Doug Ford," she said. "People get confused."

"It also speaks to the sloppy, confused roll out of the vaccination program writ large. Let's face it, they have done a dismal job," she said. 

Talk of cross-regional bookings follows news that thousands of school staff members in Niagara are being permitted to get vaccinated over the April break.

For the week of April 12 to 19, Niagara Health says it reserved approximately 6,000 appointments for frontline child care and education workers at the Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre vaccination clinic.

For that same week, roughly 4,700 appointments were booked at the Niagara Health-run clinic through the provincial portal for those aged 60 and over.

While the province has said Hamilton educators in high-risk areas will be prioritized, it's also said they won't come before others in Peel and Toronto. 

Hamilton Public Health Services says it understands the province will calibrate future vaccine shipments to the different regions depending on the amount they're using. It wants to ensure Hamilton gets its fair share.

"If Hamilton is disproportionately using more vaccine due to persons from Niagara or other regions seeking vaccination here, we hope the province will adjust vaccine allocations accordingly," it said. 

Dr. Dirk Huyer, coordinator of the provincial outbreak response, said during a media briefing it was difficult for him to comment on the Niagara bookings, but that the province was focusing on "age and at-risk" in its roll out. 

"Each public health unit has flexibility within the broader provincial direction, and at times there are part reasons why a public health unit may approach their vaccination roll out plan in their own specific way," he said. 

It also comes after a weekend that saw hundreds of appointments went unused at the mass vaccination clinic FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, as first reported by CHCH News.

CBC Hamilton has reached out for comment from the province.