Hundreds of Sudburians line up to receive COVID-19 booster shots Monday

Sudbury -

People 18 and older lined up outside the Garson Arena on Monday to receive their third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

With Omicron driving new cases across the world, booster shots are now available to residents in the hope of getting cases number to drop.

“It really wasn’t a big deal," said Carly Gasparini, after getting her shot. “I’m believing in the science. I’m trusting in the doctors and if they tell me that’s what we need then I’m here for it.”

Demand was heavy Monday. Gasparini arrived 90 minutes before the clinic opened, and she was till 25th in line.

"I did get here at 7:30 this morning to stand in line and it’s been chilly for sure," she said. "There’s a super huge lineup so I’m glad I got here early.”

The clinic at the Garson Arena will only provide booster doses this week, to both walk-ins and those who make an appointment. One person said they chose the walk-in clinic because they couldn't book an appointment until the end of January.

Alain Simard, a local immunologist and associate professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, said it's difficult to predict when – or if -- we will need another dose.

“If we were to work on the assumption that we’re going to keep the same vaccine, that no updates will be done, then I do think that we would need regular booster shots probably every six months," Simard said.

"Maybe even less than that against Omicron, but we just don’t know at this point. That being, said I know that Pfizer and Moderna they’re all working on updating the vaccine to include those mutations that we find in Omicron and then they’re going to develop a new vaccine."

He said the new vaccine will be essentially the same one, just tailored for Omicron.

Those looking to get a booster dose at a walk-in clinic can visit the Garson arena Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.