The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit is asking area residents who have not yet been able to book a local vaccination appointment through the provincial booking system to be patient.
Additional mass immunization clinics will be launched in the coming weeks in Haliburton County, Northumberland County, and the City of Kawartha Lakes.
“We know some of our residents went into the provincial booking system to book their appointments this week and discovered there were no clinics in their area,” said acting medical officer of health Dr. Ian Gemmill, referring to the Ontario government’s online system that went live this past Monday.
“We understand that it has been frustrating, but we need to ensure that there is a dose of vaccine available for every appointment,” Dr. Gemmill added. “I would ask people to be patient and go back into the system in the coming weeks to check for additional clinics.”
Everyone who wants the vaccine will receive it, Dr. Gemmill said, adding that as more vaccine becomes available locally, more clinic appointments can open and more people can be vaccinated.
The health unit is encouraging anyone who has previously tried to book a vaccination appointment but could not find a local clinic to revisit the provincial booking system again in the coming weeks to see additional clinic locations and dates.
All vaccination appointments must be booked through the provincial booking system. Booking can be done online at www.ontario.ca/bookvaccine or by phone at 1-888-999-6488.
Currently, vaccination appointments are only available for residents 80 years of age or older. However, on Friday (March 19), the Ontario government announced it is expanding vaccine eligibility to those 75 years or older, effective Monday, March 22nd.
As of March 19, the following clinic locations are already available in the provincial booking system:
- Kawartha Lakes – Lindsay Exhibition (LEX) at 354 Angeline Street South in Lindsay. Clinic appointments began on Thursday (March 18).
- Haliburton – Haliburton Family Medical Centre (second floor) at 7217 Gelert Road in Haliburton. Clinic appointments will begin on Monday (March 22).
The following clinic locations will be available in the provincial booking system in the coming weeks:
- Kawartha Lakes – Fenelon Falls Community Centre at 27 Veterans Way in Fenelon Falls. Clinic appointments will begin the week of Monday, April 5th.
- Haliburton – S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena at 55 Parkside Street in Minden. Clinic appointments will begin the week of Monday, April 5th.
- Northumberland County – Cobourg Community Centre at 750 D’Arcy Street in Cobourg. Clinic dates and times will be added to the provincial booking system by Friday, March 26th, with clinic appointments beginning Monday, March 29th.
- Northumberland County – Trent Hills Emergency Services Base at 50 Doxsee Avenue in Campbellford. Clinic dates and times will be added to the provincial booking system in coming weeks.
