During the spring vaccine rush, each day brought a new crowd of people to the Humber River Hospital vaccine clinic, all eager for protection against COVID-19.
The clinic at Downsview Arena remained busy through the summer when waves of residents from Toronto’s northwest corner became eligible for a vaccine.
And in September, another group of people seeking the first doses queued up at the hospital’s new clinic in a Weston shopping plaza after vaccine passports were distributed across the province.
Now, two months later, that steady stream of people arriving for their first few takes has slowed to a trickle.
But Sudha Kutty and her staff are not discouraged. They are researching and working harder to reach the unvaccinated in their community, knowing how much first injections count in the final stage of the COVID vaccine race.
“Wherever you want to be vaccinated, we will try to accommodate you,” said Kutty, vice president of strategy and external relations at Humber River Hospital.
“This continues to be a very meaningful job. Even if we only give the first 40 doses a day, those are 40 more people who are on the way to being protected. Everything makes a difference. “
Across the province, many of the massive COVID vaccination clinics that were rushed through the spring and summer have been scaled down or closed.
Clinics are now smaller and often mobile, with hospitals and public health units taking them to neighborhoods with lower vaccination rates, opening them everywhere from shopping malls to community centers, public schools and places of worship, even stations. TTC metro and parking spaces.
Experts say it is these “last mile efforts” that will help propel Ontario to reach its goal of vaccinating 90 percent of the eligible population, a critically important goal as the province tries to prevent another pandemic wave.
On Thursday, the province reported 642 new COVID cases, 204 more than what was recorded on Nov. 4, and a test positivity rate of 2.1 percent. The previous day, citing an increase in COVID cases, the province announced that it would suspend the lifting of capacity limits in high-risk venues such as nightclubs, wedding venues and strip clubs.
While 85 percent of Ontario’s eligible population is now fully vaccinated, a number increasing every day, data shows that there are still areas in the province with low vaccination coverage, putting them at higher risk of outbreaks.
In Toronto, about 88 percent of eligible residents have received their first COVID injection and 85 percent are fully vaccinated. And while third doses are being distributed to those who now qualify, and plans are underway to vaccinate the city’s 200,000 children later this month, experts overseeing local vaccine efforts say they remain focused on the first injections.
Even now, eight months after Toronto opened its first vaccine clinics to the public, hundreds of people receive their first injection every day. During the first week of November, approximately 29,300 COVID vaccines were administered in the city, of which 6,322 were first doses.
At Humber’s vaccine clinics, staff are seeing workplace vaccine mandates driving people to get their first dose, Kutty said. A construction worker who needs to be vaccinated to work inside a building, for example, or a personal support worker who needs two injections to provide nursing home care.
“Recently, a DJ came to get vaccinated because he wanted to go back to work at a nightclub,” he said.
Earlier this fall, people arriving for a first dose often noted that they had waited to see how their friends had coped with the vaccine and only got it once they were sure it was safe.
“People were saying, ‘I know people who got vaccinated and it was fine, so now I’m here,'” Kutty said. “Our journey with vaccines is constantly evolving.”
Working with community partners, Humber has run vaccine clinics in apartment buildings, schools, and places of worship. The hospital also partnered with TTC and Toronto Public Health to establish clinics in subway stations, including Finch West, Lawrence West, Sheppard West, and Downsview.
Between September 10 and October 23, the hospital administered 18 underground clinics, giving a total of 1,605 vaccines, 40 percent of which were first doses.
“In this phase of last mile vaccines, this is how you get to people,” Kutty said. “I call it vaccination ‘in the moment’. You are right in front of them. They are passing you. They know they should get vaccinated and this is the time to do it. “
In the Peel region, vaccination efforts have moved from convention centers and conference rooms to the community, said Paul Sharma, co-director of COVID vaccination at Peel Public Health.
“We no longer have those massive clinics, where we were pumping 5,000 to 10,000 people a day,” he said. “Now our clinics are treating anywhere from a couple hundred to 1,000 people a day.
“What we are seeing now, in our last mile strategy, is that many people who come to the clinics have waited for a variety of reasons. And they are asking a lot of questions when they come in. “
Smaller vaccine clinics, such as those in schools and houses of worship, or in parking lots with mobile equipment, offer calmer, calmer spaces for those who fear mass clinics, Sharma said.
And because they aren’t that busy, clinic staff can take the time to talk to indecisive people, he said, noting that primary care and pharmacies are also involved in Peel’s vaccination efforts.
“Many people want to know if the vaccine is safe. We tell them that asking questions is the right thing to do and that we don’t judge people. We say there is no wrong question to ask. “
In Peel, where 85 percent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated and 89 percent have received a first dose, people still come for their initial vaccinations for a variety of reasons, including workplace mandates. But Sharma says some of those in line say they haven’t been vaccinated yet because it’s hard to find time while working various jobs, often shifts with irregular hours.
That is why mobile and pop-up clinics have been crucial in Peel’s COVID response, he said. On Wednesday, Peel Public Health parked its Vax Van mobile clinic outside Westwood Mall on Goreway Dr. in Mississauga, to bring the attention of anyone still in need of vaccinations.
Working with community and neighborhood groups has also been instrumental in tailoring vaccine education and outreach materials in Peel, Sharma said.
“You have to go to a neighborhood to understand what information is meaningful to people in that local community,” he said. “It is not a message on social networks, it is not a tweet. It could be a flyer, or one of the religious or community leaders saying something like, ‘Hey, we have this clinic here, come join us.’ ”
Dr. Maria Muraca, medical director of the North York Family Health Team, said the vaccine clinics in North York are now smaller and more community-focused, attracting those who are hesitant to enter massive crowded clinics. Clinics are often located in areas with lower vaccination rates.
“We are trying to lower the barriers that patients have to receive the vaccine,” he said. “They are walk-in. We have had them in local parks and community centers. They are open in the evenings. Anywhere, patients can access the vaccine more easily. “
People who arrive now for the first doses say it is due to mandates at work or travel, and some say they want to feel safe when they return to the office or school, Muraca said. Another group looking for the first few doses are those who have recently seen a family member or friend fall ill with COVID, he said.
“They saw the impact and it opened their eyes to the severity of COVID and how they were risking their health.”
Jessica Lau, a nurse practitioner and COVID-19 vaccine leader with the North York Family Health Team, which serves approximately 100,000 patients, has seen how personal conversations with patients who doubt vaccines can help them feel safe receiving your first dose. . Part of his job is training family health team doctors to administer COVID vaccines in case patients insist that their own doctor administer them.
In some cases, Lau allows indecisive patients to see her prepare her vaccine so they can confirm that it is their preferred brand or that it is not expired, to help ease their fears.
“They liked the transparency of that … it gave them the comfort of receiving the vaccine.”
Muraca says these targeted efforts, from mobile clinics to individual injections in family practice, are important for the city and province to meet their vaccination goals.
“Some people ask, how can you have a clinic for only 20 patients? But those are 20 people protected, lives potentially saved. And they spread the word to their family and friends who may not have been vaccinated yet. At this point, no number is too small. “
Reference-www.thestar.com