Winnipeggers brave the cold for shot at 3rd COVID-19 vaccine dose before Christmas

Frigid temperatures didn't keep dozens of people eager for a third COVID-19 vaccine dose from waiting in the cold outside a Winnipeg pharmacy Thursday morning.

Rick Mackenzie was one of several people bundled up outside the Shoppers Drug Mart on Osborne Street, waiting for the store's walk-in immunization clinic to open at 10 a.m.

"You see I'm dressed for the weather," he said, wearing a green parka and a face mask as he kicked back in a folding chair, with a towel spread out over his legs.

Mackenzie said he was hoping to get his third dose before Christmas.

But when he tried to book an appointment at another pharmacy, he couldn't get a date until sometime in January — so he decided to take his chances waiting for a shot at a walk-in clinic.

Several people in line said they showed up an hour and a half before the pharmacy even opened, braving a wind chill in the –20s.

"I don't want to wait until January or February to get my booster shot," Ava Halpin said, wearing a winter coat and a plaid blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

"I'm very excited to get it today, so I can actually get out and do things."

Ian Bailey said he had already booked an appointment online for later in January, but thought he'd also try his luck at a walk-in clinic instead.

But he was frustrated to see the lineup — and how long it took for the pharmacy to open for the day once that line started forming.

"They're wanting people to do it, to get your vaccine dosages, so you shouldn't have to be waiting," Bailey said.

"I'm surprised that they haven't opened the doors a little bit sooner, seeing the temperature's like –26 with the wind chill and there's a lot of senior people that are just waiting here."

No shortage of doses: Dr. Reimer

Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead of Manitoba's vaccine implementation task force, said the province is working with over 100 pharmacies and physicians' offices to help roll out third doses.

That means there will be some variability in hours at each site and whether they have doses at any given time, she said.

"Most of the sites around the province have a lot of appointments available, and in Winnipeg we're working to expand the availability as well," Reimer said at a news conference later Thursday. 

"We have the luxury of a lot more clinics and pharmacies in Winnipeg compared to the rest of the province, and so we are looking to make sure that it's available in every neighbourhood for every individual in a convenient way."

Reimer said she wasn't sure of the exact earliest date that appointments can be booked right now, but said any waiting list isn't because of a supply issue.

"We have no shortage of doses available in the province. It's really a matter of us trying to figure out what's the most convenient for Manitobans and move the doses to those locations," she said.

Available appointments also change daily because of cancellations and staffing changes, so people looking to book should keep checking the province's online vaccine finder, Reimer said.

Meanwhile, Manitoba's Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin said the province is looking to ramp up vaccinations before the holidays and is asking pharmacies and doctors' offices to expand their hours for immunizations.

"They've stepped up for us and Manitobans, and so we're going to ask them again to step up to increase their hours, increase their appointments, [and] try to get as many Manitobans vaccinated [as we can] within a couple weeks," Roussin told host Marcy Markusa in an interview with CBC's Information Radio on Thursday morning.

That effort comes as the province prepares for the threat posed by the Omicron variant. So far, Manitoba has reported six cases linked to the strain.

But Roussin said if Manitoba's epidemiology for that variant mirrors that of other regions, the province could start seeing a large number of cases in a matter of a few weeks — and vaccines are an effective way to protect against severe outcomes, especially with a third dose.

On Wednesday, the province warned that its latest modelling suggests Manitoba could see 1,000 new COVID-19 cases a day early in the new year if the new variant, which early data suggests is highly transmissible, takes hold.

The province also reported 218 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday — its highest daily increase in over six months.