COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in London, Mayor asks residents to lock things down now

An unknown amount of COVID-19 vaccine doses arrived in London this afternoon and will start to be rolled out by Dec. 24, officials said on Monday. 

"We do have some doses as of today," said Dr. Adam Dukelow, one of the London Health Sciences Centre's vice presidents and chief of emergency medicine at the hospital. 

How many doses have arrived and how they got here has not yet been disclosed. The vaccines will be stored under heavy security, officials have said. The doses will be administered at the field hospital set up on the Western Fair grounds. 

"Our teams have spent the entire weekend preparing the site, and we'll continue to spend time doing this early this week. We are ready whenever we can begin administering the shots,"  Dukelow said. 

The optimism about the vaccine arriving in London came on the tail of the province announcing a lockdown on Dec. 26 and local officials imploring residents here to start living as if they're in lockdown now, not to wait until Boxing Day. 

"Even though we are not as a region in the lockdown stage until Saturday, as the 24th and 25th approach and it is a historical time for us to gather with friends and family, it is critical to limit your close contacts," said Dr. Alex Summers, the region's associate medical officer of health.

"Postpone gatherings you've been looking forward to. Cancel your plans. Stay at home." 

Holder irked by provincial rules

Summers' message was echoed by politicians, including London Mayor Ed Holder and Middlesex County Warden Cathy Burghardt-Jesson. 

Holder said he was frustrated that small businesses were once again going to be hit hardest during the provincial lockdown, which large big-box stores still able to open during the lockdown.  

"If it's good enough for the province to close small and medium-sized businesses, which are not deemed essential, then close the services in the big box and superstores that are not deemed essential," Holder said. 

"To me, that's about fairness. That's about reasonableness. And I think you're giving a fighting chance to those small businesses that will only able to do their business on line. Give them a chance. Give them some hope. I hope that the province directs that accordingly to the big box and the larger superstores."

Businesses have done all they can do to keep customers safe, but some people are still ignoring provincial rules and common sense and getting together, said Burghardt-Jesson. 

"It's hard to police what goes on behind closed doors. We have to think about how we're going to go forward. We can't continually just be reacting to what's in front of us," she said. 

"From a small business standpoint, we are asking so much of them. As long as if I'm going to go into Wal-Mart, I can't go and buy a new sweater or a new purse, I'm OK with that. I still have to get groceries and I still have to get my prescriptions. And they still do offer local jobs. But let's just try to make sure that the playing field is level for everyone out there."