During his Wednesday briefing, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s (HKPR) Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Gemmill said that despite some glitches, the province’s COVID-19 vaccine booking portal is working well.
He pointed out that as of this past Monday, anyone born in or before 1946 is now able to get vaccinated.
“People may go on and find there are no appointments and they can’t actually find the clinics set up regionally,” Dr. Gemmill said, adding that’s part of the way the portal is designed. “We are not putting any appointments into the system unless we have a vaccine to back it up,” he went on to say.
“As supply (of vaccines) increases, we will offer more appointments,” Dr. Gemmill said. HKPR is expected to get 3,000 to 6,000 vaccine doses per week, but he said they’re pushing for that to be increased. “If we have lots of vaccines, we can make lots of bookings,” Dr. Gemmill said.
Vaccination clinics have been set-up in Haliburton County on the second floor of the Haliburton Family Medical Centre, the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena, and at the A.J. LaRue Community Centre. If those are full, Dr. Gemmill said the system will redirect you to the closest clinic based on your postal code. He pointed out that you can get vaccinated at any clinic in the province, so long as you’re an Ontario resident.
Dr. Norm Bottum with Haliburton Highlands Health Services is reminding residents that in advance of their appointment, they can fill out the consent forms. It’s available online, or you can pick it up in person at Glecoffs Family Store in Haliburton, the Rexall, Haliburton Highland pharmacies, Highland Pharmacy Remedy’sRx, the pharmacy inside Todd’s Your Independent Grocer, or the Pharmasave in Minden.