Hamilton likely to have temporary vaccine appointment shortage Wednesday
The tsunami of demand that wiped out Hamilton's vaccine appointment supply within 30 minutes of the provincial portal opening in May could again be headed our way.
Public health says 102,000 residents will become eligible for an accelerated second dose of vaccine as of Wednesday - this includes people who received their first dose between May 10 and May 30 - but only 45,000 appointments are being added to the provincial booking portal this week. That suggests more than 55,000 residents will be unable to immediately book an appointment through the portal, which opens at 8 a.m.
We will not have enough to book appointments for everyone ... however, more appointments will continue to be loaded in the coming days in alignment with vaccine supply and, in time, everyone will have the opportunity to book an appointment," said James Berry, public health spokesperson, on Tuesday.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Hamiltonians are advised to be persistent: Check back often to see if more appointments have opened up or been added, and search out alternate sources for the vaccine, including pharmacies or clinics offering appointments by phone or online.
As of Tuesday, the Winterberry Family Medicine clinic and the David Braley Health Sciences Centre clinic both had appointments available in the coming days. Winterberry is offering the Moderna mRNA vaccine - though it will hold an AstraZeneca second dose clinic from July 6 to 12 - and the David Braley clinic is offering second doses of both AstraZeneca and Moderna.
In Hamilton, Pfizer doses are currently being reserved for youth ages 12 to 17 - an age group not cleared to get anything else.
If your first dose was Pfizer but Moderna is now the only vaccine on offer, Hamilton's medical officer of health - and other experts - say it's OK to mix and match. Moderna and Pfizer are interchangeable," Dr. Elizabeth Richardson says. And two doses of vaccine are better than one when it comes to protecting residents in the race against the Delta variant.
More information on the COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Hamilton can be found at: Hamilton.ca/VaccineBooking.
Meanwhile, Hamilton's new case numbers remain low on Tuesday. There were just 12 new cases and no new deaths. A total of 139 cases are active. There are 33 patients in Hamilton hospitals with COVID, including 22 in the intensive care unit.
Three outbreaks are active in the city: Denholme Manor supportive housing, Dundas Retirement Place and Bistro Vie.
Outbreaks are now over at National Steel Car's steel fabrication department and the Salvation Army's shelter at 94 York Blvd.
Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com