Massive Clinic Opens at Center on Barton as Hamilton Anticipates Inflow of COVID Vaccine Stocks – Hamilton | The Canadian News

Hamilton’s second mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic for the public opened at the Center in Barton on Thursday and will become another important piece of the city’s plan to manage an anticipated influx of vaccine doses over the next several months.

In a statement, the public health said that the demand is expected to be driven by the imminent approval of a vaccine for children aged five to 11 years, probably on Friday, and the possibility that the third doses will be available in January for anyone. in the eligible age group 12 and over. population that wants it.

The new fixed clinic at 1211 Barton St. E., joins the Lime Ridge Mall site that opened two weeks ago. Both are expected to have the capacity to deliver 550 doses of COVID-19 vaccine per day.

The city has another massive clinic, just for healthcare workers, at the Hamilton Health Sciences far west clinic on Main Street West.

Hours of operation at the Barton location will alternate biweekly with the first three days of operation between 9:30 am and 3:30 pm, moving from 1 to 7 pm between November 22-28.

At a health board meeting Monday, the manager of Hamilton’s vaccination response team said that despite the imminent approval of the five-to-eleven vaccines, the schedule for the injections has yet to be determined.

“The exact time that vaccines will be available to children ages five to 11 in Hamilton will depend on the timing of Health Canada’s approval and receipt of the vaccine supply in Hamilton, ”said Melissa Biksa.

Dr. Julia Orkin, a pediatrician at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, says parents who may be uncertain about children’s vaccines or who are concerned about side effects should keep in mind that the new doses of Pfizer are not the same size. than those administered to 12-year-olds. more poblation.

“So despite being a lower dose, the immune response is excellent,” Orkin told Global News.

“That lower dose often translates to fewer side effects, so your child may have arm pain, feel tired, or not feel well afterward, but it’s probably more unlikely because of the dose given. “.

Over the next five weeks, public health partners will launch five school-based COVID-19 vaccination clinics in the five high schools with the lowest coverage rates.

Sessions will be open to Hamilton Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) and Catholics (HWCDSB) students, their families, staff from each school community, as well as eligible elementary school students.

The first and second doses will continue to be available for purchase without an appointment and through online reservations throughout the city. EXCHANGE system. Third doses are by appointment only through VERTO.

Primary care partners and pharmacies are the top stops for third injections, with targeted, massive mobile clinics likely to enter the fold in 2022.

To date, the city has administered 11,000 third doses that are currently recommended but not required.

Over the past seven days, Hamilton’s health partners have delivered just over 8,500 doses of vaccines, and on Friday it recorded the highest intake since Oct. 8: 1,772 injections.

That number is well above the monthly average for daily doses given so far in November, which is 1,044 per day.

The November average so far is slightly lower than the one recorded throughout October, 1,068 shots per day, and further behind the September average of 1,488 per day.

As of Wednesday, 82.6 percent of eligible Hamiltonians age 12 and older have been fully vaccinated, while 85.9 percent have received at least a single puncture. The city still lags behind the provincial average, which sees 85.7 percent fully vaccinated and 88.8 percent with at least one dose of vaccine.

Residents ages 70 to 84 have reached the health ministry goal of 90% coverage of the first and second doses, while Hamiltonians ages 25 to 29 represent the lowest vaccination rates in the community at just 72 , 3% fully vaccinated.

Public health estimates that approximately one in 10 Hamiltonians is being vaccinated outside of town.

Hamilton trails 31 other public health units in the percentage of two-dose vaccines in Ontario.

Hamilton’s daily COVID-19 case rate remains flat week-over-week, with public health reporting a seven-day average case rate of 15 as of Wednesday, two less than the daily average so far throughout November.

The rate is much lower than the daily average for October, which was 22 cases per day.

Active cases increased day-over-day from 121 reported on Tuesday to 144 on Wednesday.

More than 62% of all active cases correspond to people under 50 years of age, while 40% are under 30 years of age.

Since the pandemic began in March 2020, Hamilton has reported 25,526 COVID cases.

There are eight reported outbreaks linked to a total of 53 cases in the city as of November 17. The largest is at St. Peter’s Hospital, which has 18 cases in total: four among staff and 14 among patients.

The outbreaks in schools include cases in two public entities and two private facilities.

The largest is with the Catholic school board’s St. Gabriel Elementary School on Barton Street in Stoney Creek, which has seen the total of cases rise by seven in recent days to nine student cases.

In the past 14 days, both public boards together have reported 40 cases with 36 among students.

Hospitals in Hamilton reported a total of 22 COVID patients as of Thursday, including six people in intensive care units (ICUs).

See link »