Chatham-Kent residents who have been waiting to get a dose of COVID-19 vaccine no longer need to make an appointment to get their first shot in Chatham.
From Wednesday, July 7 until July 15 Chatham-Kent Public Health will be offering first doses to youth, ages 12-17, on a walk-in basis at all Bradley Centre Clinics offering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines.
Anyone aged 18 and over still looking to receive their first dose will also be accommodated.
Upcoming Bradley Centre Clinics offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will take place:
-Wednesday, July 7 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. -Thursday, July 8 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. -Saturday, July 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. -Wednesday, July 14 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. -Thursday, July 15 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m
"We don't need appointments anymore for first doses," said Chatham-Kent's Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby. "All you have to do is show up at the Bradley Centre and they'll welcome you whenever they're open. We should be able to get more people vaccinated."
Dr. Colby said it is part of their strategy to try to get more Chatham-Kent youth in for their first dose.
"We've only just 46% vaccinated, and we are working very very hard to motivate people to come in," said Dr. Colby. "If you compare that to Middlesex-London, which has got over 70% of their 12 to 17 vaccinated, I don't know why our youth are not coming in."
Right now, the only vaccine approved for youth is the Pfizer-BioNTech, and Dr. Colby said they have plenty of Pfizer available.
"It's not because of any kind of Pfizer shortage that that number is lower than I would like to see," said Dr. Colby. "We have plenty of vaccine to be able to vaccinate that group, we just need to get them in and roll up their sleeves."
Appointments are still required for second COVID-19 vaccine shots. Those can be booked online at www.getyourshotCK.ca, or by calling call 519-351-1010. A number of local pharmacies are also giving out doses, a full list can be found online at https://covid-19.ontario.ca/vaccine-locations.
In addition, there will be a COVID-19 vaccine community clinic hosted at Tilbury District Family Health Team located at 22 Mill St. W. on Thursday, July 8.
An appointment can be booked by calling 519-682-2307, extension 303. Walk-in appointments will be accepted based on vaccine availability.
The clinic will run from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is open to those seeking first and second doses.
