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Mobile COVID-19 vaccine clinic hitting the road in Sudbury

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Sudbury -

A mobile COVID-19 vaccine clinic could soon be coming to a neighbourhood near you thanks to a collaboration between the City of Greater Sudbury and Public Health Sudbury and Districts.

No appointments will be required and the bus will be on the road between Tuesday and Sunday for at least the summer months.

"The purpose of the bus is for us to take the vaccine and meet people where they're at," said Karly McGibbon, a public health nurse. "So we've done great work with the large, mass immunization clinics at the local arena, so that's been a wonderful start. Now, what we want to do is reach populations that maybe can't get to a clinic."

The bus plans to hit neighbourhoods and small towns where the need is greatest. It'll hit areas around the city, as well as Chapleau, Killarney, and Manitoulin Island.

Mass clinics in the city, for the most part, aren't seeing the large lines or numbers they once were at the height of the vaccination period. Officials are hoping this might help to entice some of the hesitant.

"The mass clinics are slowing down, which is to be expected. It means more people are vaccinated, so the demand for the mass centres is less. So now what we're doing is changing it up a little bit," she said.

The move also comes amid a push from the province to get hospitals out of the vaccine business and to keep it with public health and primary care practitioners.

The mobile clinic will work the same as the mass clinics. People who approach the bus will be greeted by staff and get signed in. Once they enter, they'll be escorted to a seat and put through the COVAX system.

Participants will receive their shot, wait 15 minutes to monitor for any adverse side effects, and then be allowed to leave.

Officials are warning people, with it being 'first come, first served', if interest is high, they may not be able to get to everyone.

"A success would be for us to immunize one person that otherwise would not have been immunized," McGibbon said. "So people who come on the bus from let's say Capreol, who say 'well, I can't get to town because I have mobility issues...' that's a success for us, reaching the people that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to reach."

"I think the mobile bus will make it very equitable for folks to come out and get a vaccine when they've experienced barriers. So I think it will be a game-changer in terms of reaching those folks for sure," said Melissa Roney, deputy chief of emergency services.

Public Health Sudbury and Districts started with their pop-up clinics last weekend. Roney said it's very important that they get out into the community, even further than what's being done.

She has wondered about vaccine hesitancy with the diminishing lines at mass vaccination clinics but is hopeful most are still planning on having a two-dose summer.

"I think there's many factors and I think bringing it a little closer makes it more convenient, reduces or takes down whatever barrier it is, whether that's mobility or hesitancy and they'll come out and get their vaccine quick," Roney said.

The pop-up clinic at Moonlight Beach on Sunday saw more than 200 people attend.

The mobile vaccine clinic hits the road on Monday and Public Health Sudbury and Districts has planned stops for Sudbury, Copper Cliff, Capreol, Azilda, and Onaping the first week. 

The vaccination rates of residents in the Sudbury district are higher than the Ontario average.

As of Sunday, 78.5 per cent of residents ages 12 and older have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine compared to 77.3 per cent province-wide. A total of 57 per cent of residents ages 12 and older have received second doses as opposed to 48.4 per cent Ontario-wide.

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