As vaccination rates rise, Sudbury's health unit moves away from mass vaccination clinics
Rising vaccination numbers in the area covered by Public Health Sudbury & Districts means its time to move away from mass vaccination clinics, the health unit said Tuesday.
Currently, 80.8 per cent of residents aged 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 70.7 per cent have received their second dose.
"There is less need for high volume clinics and more need for clinics using targeted approaches," the health unit said in a news release.
Instead of mass clinics, there will be a focus on more flexible mobile and pop-up clinics to reach vaccination goals. Public Health has said previously it's aiming to get 90 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated.
To that end, workplaces, community organizations, places of worship, and other groups can now request a mobile vaccination team from Public Health to administer first and second doses at their own location.
“The success of our mass immunization clinics over the last seven months is the direct result of the great collaboration with our partners in hospitals, primary care, congregate settings, community paramedicine and health centres, social services, First Nations, municipal governments, and enforcement agencies, and our dedicated teams of staff, and volunteers," Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, medical officer of health, said in the release.
“We aren’t done yet and we now need to have more precision-focused clinics to offer the approximately 50,000 doses to reach our 90 per cent target. Every little bit helps and every day we get a little bit closer to achieving our goal."
Since January, 265 mass immunization events have occurred throughout the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts. In total, mass immunization clinics have provided 68.3 per cent of all vaccine doses in our area, or just more than two of every three doses.
In the next few weeks, appointments and walk-ins will be welcome at all mass immunization clinics. The last mass immunization clinics for each location in Greater Sudbury will be at the Centennial Community Centre and Arena in Hanmer on Aug. 4, the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex on Aug. 7, and at the Dr. Edgar Leclair Community Centre and Arena in Azilda on Aug. 13.
Carmichael Arena in Greater Sudbury will continue to host clinics on Tuesday evenings until the end of August and additional clinics may be scheduled as needed.
Appointments and walk-ins will be available until the end of August on Tuesdays at the Manitoulin Secondary School and on Wednesdays at the Espanola High School. The last mass immunization clinics in Sudbury East will be held on Aug. 5 at the Alban Community Centre and on Aug. 12 in St. Charles at the St. Charles Community Centre
After that, appointments will be available at Public Health Sudbury & Districts’ Sudbury East office.
For more information or if you have questions about getting your first or second dose of vaccine, visit phsd.ca/COVID-19 or call Public Health Sudbury & Districts at 705-522-9200, toll-free 1-866-522-9200.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.