07 Apr COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic Update – April 7, 2021
MEMO
From: Anthony DiMonte, General Manager, Emergency and Protective Services
To: All Members of Council
Members of Council,
Yesterday, the Province of Ontario moved the provincial vaccine roll-out into Phase 2. Phase 2 is rolling out from April to July 2021, based on vaccine supply and includes the following groups:
- Adults 60 to 69 years of age
- Adults 55 or older are eligible for vaccination at participating pharmacies and primary care settings
- Adults 50 and older living in COVID-19 hot spot communities
- Individuals with health conditions and their caregiver
- People who live and work in high-risk congregate settings
- Caregivers in select congregate care settings
- Essential frontline workers who cannot work from home.
I am pleased to say that today we are rolling out to the first group on the above list – all residents 60 years old and older are now able to book an appointment on the online provincial booking portal.
Residents can book online for appointments at the community vaccination clinics:
- Nepean Sportsplex
- Ruddy Family YMCA-YWCA
- Eva James Memorial Community Centre
- City Hall
In addition to adults 60 years and older, thirty-four pharmacies in Ottawa are providing vaccinations to Ottawa residents age 55 and older. Additional information as well as participating locations can be found on the Province of Ontario website. These vaccinations are separate from Ottawa Public Health and the City of Ottawa’s vaccination roll-out. Residents are asked to call participating pharmacies directly to book an appointment or the Province of Ontario Vaccination Information Line at 1-888-999-6488 if they have questions on the pharmacy vaccination program.
The remaining eligible groups in Phase 2 will be vaccinated over the coming months. I understand that many residents will have questions on whether they are eligible, when they will be vaccinated and how they get the vaccines.
These residents can’t currently book an appointment, so we ask that they do not call Ottawa Public Health or 3-1-1. This includes residents that are 50 years and older living in COVID-19 hotspot communities. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
For now, I refer you to the provincial vaccination roll out page, which identifies the sequencing under each of these criteria. We will work with Ottawa Public Health over the coming weeks to sequence this large segment of our population and to finalize the process by which they book their appointments. This will require more information from the province, which we are currently seeking with Ottawa Public Health.
I encourage residents to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine update e-subscription to receive email updates on the vaccine roll-out.
Provincial Hot Spots
The province released the “hot spot” areas across Ontario that will be prioritized in Phase 2 of the vaccination roll out. These areas are based on the first three digits of a postal code.
These “hot spots” do not impact the areas of focus in the City of Ottawa. Locally, the Medical Officer of Health has the authority to further focus on priority neighbourhoods within these postal codes.
As such, the 21 priority neighbourhoods that were identified as having the highest risk of hospitalization or death will continue to be the areas of focus for the vaccination roll-out. These are the same priority neighbourhoods that received pop-up vaccination clinics in the past few months.
New pop-up clinic
The City is opening a pop-up clinic at a new location this week. The Good Companions Seniors’ Centre will allow us to offer vaccines to residents age 60 and older living in high-risk neighbourhoods
Vaccinations are now available for First Nation, Métis and Inuit community members who are age 16 and over.
Pre-registration continues for vaccination appointments in the future for specific faith leaders, highest priority, very-high priority and high-priority health care workers.
Transportation to and from City clinics is available through Ottawa Community Transportation.
Residents 60 years old and older can now book vaccinations through the provincial booking system. Use our online tool to check your availability. https://bit.ly/3b6CCg2
All First Nation, Métis and Inuit adults 16+ in #OttCity can book a COVID-19 vaccination. Check your availability before booking. https://bit.ly/3b6CCg2
High-priority patient-facing health care workers can now visit OttawaPublicHealth.ca to pre-register for a vaccine appointment. https://bit.ly/2ODQRk4
Faith leaders can pre-register for a vaccine appointment at OttawaPublicHealth.ca. https://bit.ly/2QUU67B