Rosedale Arena COVID-19 vaccination clinic postponed due to ‘low vaccine supply’
A new mass vaccination clinic planned for Hamilton is no longer opening due to a supply shortage, while other regions expand their vaccinations locally.
At a city council meeting on Wednesday, the city's medical officer of health said the expected opening of the Rosedale Arena is being postponed.
The east Hamilton site was to be the fourth fixed-site clinic to open in the city. The clinic was set to open early April, according to a general issues committee meeting last week.
Given the current rates of supply, there just is not sufficient supply to open that clinic," said Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, calling it very disappointing."
An opening date at this point is not known," she said.
Her comments followed concerns from the mayor about low vaccine supply" in Hamilton while other regions expand their vaccination programs.
Some other municipalities are moving ahead and expanding their program, while some others are closing large-scale clinics and scaling back because they don't have vaccine available to them either," said Mayor Fred Eisenberger.
Halton Region announced it would begin opening vaccines to residents 65 and older from Wednesday. Halton is currently in the red-control zone of the province's framework, while Hamilton is in the grey-lockdown zone.
We would appreciate being part of the same expansion as others surrounding us," said Eisenberger, noting he will work with the province to get more supply locally.
Richardson noted Hamilton got its vaccines before other regions, so the city administered more second doses than other municipalities before the province delayed the interval between doses to 16 weeks.
She added the city will have enough supply to keep its existing large-scale clinics open.
More to come ...
Maria Iqbal's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report on stories focused on aging issues. Reach her via email: miqbal@thespec.com.