Kate Morning said she experienced some difficulty getting an appointment for her third COVID-19 vaccination dose.
But the Aurora resident said it was smooth sailing once Newmarket’s new mass vaccination clinic at the community centre opened up at 200 Doug Duncan Dr. She got in for her vaccination on its second day of operation, Jan. 7.
“I’m pleased to have it now. It took me a long time to get an appointment,” Morning said. “It worked really well.”
York Region Public Health opened the new centre to meet the high demand for vaccines in the wake of the omicron variant. After several weeks of preparation, the region has added new mass vaccination sites in Newmarket, Richmond Hill, and Markham. The Southlake Community Ontario Health Team has also opened a centre at Ray Twinney Recreation Complex in Newmarket.
Newmarket Community Centre clinic manager Hannah Murray said they intend to ramp up to 1,400 vaccinations per day with 20 immunizers on site now working between 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The clinic has no specific end date set.
“It’s a busy and big job to get done, but we are used to it now, and we adapt and move very easily,” she said. “It’s a great location for York Region, very central for the town, making it easy for the elderly population and people with busy lives to get to us.”
Many residents expressed concerns about difficulties getting booster appointments last month due to high demand. York Region's public health unit is still restricting its clinics to 50 and older to ensure that segment of the population is vaccinated before moving on.
But more appointments are now readily available. Newmarket resident Sharon Petrucci said she was preparing to get a vaccination in Bradford before the new mass vaccination clinic opened, and she shifted appointments.
“It was very convenient,” she said. “As soon as I saw it in the news this morning, I booked right away.”
As far as staffing, Murray said in addition to public health doctors and nurses, the clinic is drawing in medical professionals from other agencies like paramedics, as well as town staff in non-clinical roles.
“It’s running really smoothly,” she said. “Our main concern is our patients’ experience of the site and getting them in quickly, keeping them warm while coming in, and so far, it went excellently.”
You can book a vaccination at the community centre or other York Region clinics at york.ca/covid19vaccine. Appointments are also available elsewhere through the provincial booking site.
