COVID BOOSTER SHOTS AVAILABLE AT SMDHU VACCINE CLINICS, PHARMACIES, MEDICAL OFFICES

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — With 25 per cent of kids in the region now vaccinated, the health unit is now opening its doors and booking booster shots for residents at 70+.

Starting at 8 a.m. on Dec. 13, individuals aged 50 years and older will also be eligible for the booster and can schedule their appointment through the provincial portal or Vaccine Contact Centre.

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) says in a release Tuesday that it is “pleased to announce that its community clinics are once again providing appointments to those eligible for third or booster dose COVID-19 vaccinations.”

Appointments can be booked through the COVID-19 vaccination portal or by calling the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900.

Other locations offering booster shots and third doses include the health unit’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic at 29 Sperling Dr. in Barrie (walk-ins also available Sunday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), the Cottage Country Family Health Team in Gravenhurst and the Algonquin Family Health Team in Huntsville.

Additional vaccination options include appointments through the Couchiching Ontario Health Team Clinic, select pharmacies and GO-VAXX bus mobile clinics.

As of today SMDHU vaccine clinics are welcoming those eligible for booster shots. And next Monday anyone over age 50 will also be able to book an appointment through the province. See phone and internet connections in this story.

Boosters are available to individuals at least 6 months (a minimum of 168 days) after their second dose was given to extend their protection due to increased risk of exposure, severe disease and waning immunity. Individuals currently eligible for a booster include:

  • Residents of long-term care homes, retirement homes and First Nation elder lodges, and seniors living in other congregate settings
  • Individuals aged 70 and over (born in 1951 or earlier)
  • Health care workers and designated essential caregivers in congregate settings (including long-term care home and retirement home staff and designated caregivers)
  • Individuals who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine or one dose of the Janssen vaccine
  • First Nation, Inuit and Métis adults and their non-Indigenous household members who are 16 years of age or older.

While a full two-dose series of COVID-19 vaccine provides powerful and persistent protection against COVID-19 for most people, a booster dose provides an extra layer of protection, particularly against the highly transmissible Delta variant, for individuals more at risk.

SMDHU also continues to encourage individuals who are considered moderately or severely immunocompromised based on the Ministry of Health’s definitions to receive a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The purpose of a third dose is meant to complete the original series of COVID-19 vaccine to make it a three-dose series, due to evidence of potential sub-optimal immune response to the initial two doses in specific populations, including:

  • Transplant recipients
  • Individuals with solid tumours or hematological cancers on active treatment
  • Individuals who are severe primary immunodeficiency or advanced untreated HIV
  • Recipients of specific immunocompromising medications
  • Residents of long-term care homes, retirement homes and First Nation elder care lodges, and seniors living in other congregate settings.

If you believe you qualify for a third dose, please contact your health care provider for a referral form or take your eligible immunosuppressing prescription directly to the clinic.

For more information about COVID-19 and vaccination please visit our website at www.smdhu.org/COVID19.

 

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