The Ottawa area's weekly COVID-19 vaccination checkup: May 6
CBC News | Posted: May 6, 2021 8:00 AM | Last Updated: May 6, 2021
More than 830,000 doses delivered across region as provinces update rollout plans
Highlights:
- Ontario and Quebec have now offered detailed timelines for their vaccine rollouts.
- Ottawa is stepping up its vaccination campaign in priority neighbourhoods.
- Some health units are warning residents that due to shortages, they might not be able to get an appointment as soon as they become eligible.
Every Thursday, CBC Ottawa brings you this roundup of COVID-19 vaccination developments throughout the region.
There have been about 835,000 doses administered in the wider Ottawa-Gatineau region, which has about 2.3 million residents. That's about 110,000 doses more than last Thursday.
Delivery of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has been delayed, and Health Canada is double-checking the first shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Ontario has issued wide vaccination guidelines, but has also given local health units some flexibility. There's more information in the links at the bottom of the page.
The provincial picture
Under new timelines announced by Ontario and Quebec, anyone 18 or over will be able to book a vaccination appointment in May as supply increases.
- Ontario on track to give 1st doses to majority of adults this month: officials
- How many COVID-19 vaccines can Ontario administer per day? We did the math
In Ontario, anyone age 55 to 59 has been able to book an appointment through the province's registration system since last Friday.
Eligibility expanded to people as young as 18 in Ottawa's hot spots on Monday. The province is sending 50 per cent of available doses to those neighbourhoods this week and next, but as you'll read below, that effort is being hampered by shortages in some areas.
WATCH | Ontario's surge to hot spots:
As of 8 a.m. Thursday, anyone age 50 to 54 can make an appointment through the province's booking system. Anyone with a "high-risk" health condition, as well as essential workers including school staff, food manufacturing workers and farm workers, is also now eligible.
Starting Thursday, certain groups that have only been able to book vaccination appointments over the phone can do so online.
Next week, all residents 40 and over will be able to book. Eligibility is also expected to include a wider range of health conditions and job types, such as transit and grocery store employees.
- What happened to my vaccination request? The 55+ cohort wants to know
- Ontario pharmacies facing 'administrative nightmare' booking 2nd vaccine doses
Ontario is asking a federal vaccine advisory group to look into the possibility of allowing the second does to be a different make than the first. Depending on supply, the acceptable interval between the two doses could also change.
WATCH | Your 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine is effective but not foolproof:
Health Canada says the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is safe and effective for children as young as 12. Quebec had already started planning for that possibility.
Federal public servants get paid half a day to get vaccinated, according to the Treasury Board.
Ottawa
The head of the city's vaccine task force says teams plan to go door to door, offer pop-up clinics and reach out to faith groups in priority neighbourhoods to get the word out.
A new vaccination clinic opened this week near some of those areas, joining existing pop-up clinics.
More than 380,000 doses have now been given to Ottawa residents, including more than 27,700 second doses.
Thirty-four per cent of the city's population has had at least one dose. Nearly 80 per cent of residents in their 60s have had at least one dose, as have 50 per cent of residents age 50 to 59.
Ottawa's population is about 1,050,000, but some age groups aren't yet eligible for vaccination.
Western Quebec
Residents age 40 to 44 became eligible Wednesday, and those 35 to 39 will become eligible Friday.
The Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) is deploying about 30 staff to help out at local vaccine clinics.
The Outaouais has distributed about 160,000 vaccine doses among a population of about 386,000.
Hastings Prince Edward
Officials here can't guarantee they'll have sufficient supply to offer everyone who's becoming eligible an appointment right away. More doses are expected by the end of May. Until then, people can pre-register.
The health unit is holding "catch-up" vaccination clinics for eligible health-care workers who haven't gotten a jab.
More than 63,000 doses have been administered to this area's residents, including about 4,400 second doses.
Thirty-five per cent of the local population of about 168,000 has now had a first dose.
WATCH | The tricky questions around herd immunity:
Renfrew County
Renfrew County has also said its vaccine supply is limited, so it may not be able to offer first doses to everyone as soon as they're eligible.
Its medical officer of health said Friday officials are confident the area will have adequate supply to get everyone their second doses on time. People who have received a first dose will receive an email to book their second dose.
The health unit says anyone who got their first dose outside the region, but needs their second dose at home, can call to make arrangements.
With a population of about 109,000, Renfrew County has distributed about 37,000 doses. More than half of residents age 65 to 69 have now had at least one dose.
Pikwakanagan says its population is fully vaccinated.
Eastern Ontario Health Unit
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis said Monday that based on anticipated supply, anyone who wants to be vaccinated should be able to get a first dose by early June.
WATCH | The EOHU's vaccine update starts around the 3:30 mark:
The health unit has started a standby vaccination list for people as young as 18 in addition to the regular registration process.
Akwesasne is moving on Health Canada's update and vaccinating community members as young as 12 next week.
Among a population of about 209,000, more than 67,000 vaccine doses have been administered.
Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington
The region, with a population of about 213,000, has given about 83,000 vaccine doses to residents, including about 4,000 second doses.
The health unit said Tuesday more than 85 per cent of the local population over age 60 has had at least one shot, and so have more than 90 per cent of care home residents and staff.
Leeds, Grenville and Lanark
Carleton Place will open a pop-up vaccination clinic at the local arena on Friday afternoon.
More than 45,000 of the region's 173,000 residents have received at least one dose, according to the local health unit. That number doesn't include doses administered through pharmacies.