COVID booster shots being offered at Timmins seniors facility
Under recommendations from the province to give high-risk people a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the St. Mary's Gardens Home for the Aged in Timmins jumped at the opportunity to offer a booster shot to its residents.
Following guidance from the Porcupine Health Unit, facility administrator Karla Gagnon said high-risk retirement homes are one of the areas needing the extra protection.
"We love our seniors and we just want to keep them safe," said Gagnon.
"Anything we can do to do that and prevent any kind of an outbreak, that is our main goal."
Provincial and federal vaccine advisory groups have released reports saying a booster shot is likely necessary for immunocompromised people, with concerns that the strength of the first two doses could be weakening.
Using the Moderna Spikevax shot at its clinic, St. Mary's Gardens residents who opted to get pricked for the third time on Thursday said it's giving them better peace of mind.
"We feel safer having this third shot," said Lorraine Cantin, who attended the clinic with her husband.
"We want to start travelling a little bit and just feel safer on flights and where there are larger crowds. We may still (catch the virus) but we're more protected."
"More secure, more relaxed," chimed in husband Antoine Garwah.
Third vaccinations have been making early rounds across the region, with data from the Porcupine Health Unit saying more than 600 people have taken a booster.
That's in addition to around 80 per cent of the total eligible population in the health unit's coverage area who have taken two shots— including more than 90 per cent of people aged 60 and older.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.