SECOND VACCINATIONS PUSHED BACK TO GIVE OTHERS FIRST SHOT
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — The health unit says this morning that as Ontario moves to four-month interval between the vaccine doses, all second dose appointments that were booked with shorter intervals are cancelled.
They will provide details “in the near future” about how to book a new appointment for your second dose.
The change is based on guidance from Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunizations in order to maximize the strong protection from first doses in the population.
http://ow.ly/DX7J50DWaIk
The news didn’t sit well with many.
People like Mary Tompsett, 93, in Gravenhurst.
She can’t even get on the waiting list for the first shot.
And her daughter, Caroline Holmes in Barrie who is undergoing cancer treatment, also can’t get a first appointment.
Tompsett said she’s been online and calling for weeks.
She tells MuskokaTODAY.com that she gets either a busy signal or is put on hold and after hearing “your call is important …” the call is dropped.
“I’m just a frustrated old lady,” she says, adding she called MPP Norman Miller’s office and left a message, but hasn’t received a response.
“I’ll just have to wait.”
What makes her angry enough to call is that a friend who got her first vaccine told her the clinic wasn’t busy.
On social media, others like Kim Phillips commented on the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit’s Facebook page in response to the latest news.
“I’m not happy about the change. I thought those booked would be honoured as I can’t imagine all the unnecessary work to cancel and rebook.”
Mike McBride added: “People vaccinated before NACI changed their mind — and who were given a shorter appointment – should be “grandfathered” – not right to change them — plus now they’ll have to scramble to make a second appointment at a reasonable duration:(“
The extension follows confirmation from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization that extending the interval between doses for two-dose vaccines will still give people a strong and sustained level of protection from COVID-19. The two dose vaccines include Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD.
Anyone from the following groups — deemed most at risk for severe illness and death — will still be receiving their second dose as scheduled 21 to 27 days of their first shot.
They include:
- Residents of long-term care homes, retirement homes, Elder Care Lodges and Assisted Living facilities who are at the greatest risk of both exposure to COVID-19 and serious illness and death; and
- Remote and isolated First Nation communities given the potential seriousness of COVID-19 infection in these communities with limited available health care facilities and resources.
Anyone who has an appointment scheduled for their second dose before 16 weeks will have their existing appointment cancelled; more information will be coming regarding how to reschedule their appointment.
For more information about COVID-19 and the vaccine roll out visit www.smdhu.org.
All this after the health unit posted this on the same site just Monday: “Our COVID-19 vaccination appointments and wait list for dates up to and including March 16, 2021 are FULL. We are currently contacting people on the wait list to book an appointment between March 10th to 16th. We ask for your patience as we call those on the wait list. For more details please visit our website. http://ow.ly/yVzJ50DRxPY.”
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