N.S. to open walk-in vaccine clinic in downtown Halifax

Nova Scotians will soon be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine at a walk-in clinic in downtown Halifax.

The province announced Tuesday it is opening a clinic at the Halifax Convention Centre on Thursday.

The clinic will initially only be available for booked vaccine appointments for second doses, but the province expects that beginning some time in the next few days, it will also open to walk-ins for first doses.

"This is about trying to get to everyone," said Premier Iain Rankin during a tour of the site. "It's been going really well, but we want to hit 85 per cent and we're continuously looking at ways that we can provide more accommodations to people that may have more availability at night or on the weekends."

The clinic will be open from noon to 8 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, until July 16.

When it opens, the walk-in clinic will only be available to people who still need a first dose, but it could later open to those looking for a second dose.

Moderna is the only brand of vaccine that will be administered at the site.

Renette Amirault-Laing, the site leader for the clinic, said she aims to get up to 1,500 vaccines administered each day.

"We're hoping that this will reach out to some of the population that has maybe been hesitant, too busy, not able to book a vaccine. And so our goal is really to get those Nova Scotians in to get the immunization."

The clinic is a partnership between the IWK Health Centre, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Canadian Red Cross and the Halifax Convention Centre.

The province said in a news release it plans to extend hours in clinics across the province to include more evening and weekend vaccine appointments.

It also plans to open a temporary community vaccination clinic in Berwick, to open a clinic at St. Martha's Regional Hospital in Antigonish for scheduled appointments for the public, and to convert the primary assessment centres in Bayers Lake and New Glasgow to community vaccination clinics.

An additional vaccine clinic for newcomers will take place at the Newcomer Health Clinic in Halifax on June 26 and 27 for clinic patients.