Newmarket resident Cathy Gifford has tried for weeks to book a COVID-19 booster vaccination appointment for her 90-year-old mother.
Gifford said after she and her husband were able to get appointments last week, she was shocked that she could not immediately do the same for her mother, who is also living with cancer.
Although she finally landed a Dec. 23 appointment for her mother, Gifford said she could not understand why booking was such a challenge.
“Ontario always seems to be behind the 8-ball,” she said. “They should have had a better system in place. This is absolutely, disgustingly ridiculous... this is not a new thing. Why is this still happening?”
Newmarket residents are still expressing frustration with challenge of getting COVID-19 booster vaccination appointments as the demand increases with the rise of the omicron variant. The province opened up eligibility to all adults three months past their second dose Dec. 20, but York Region is restricting vaccines at their clinics to 50 and older until they meet the demand in that age group.
Gifford said the province should keep it to 50-and-up while seniors like her mother still wait to get their boosters and it needs to do more to expand vaccination capacity.
“Get as many of those people done now,” she said. “Open up the mass-vaccination places, like the Ray Twinney (Recreation Complex) …. How they had it before originally worked well. I don’t know why they are not doing that now.”
York Region has said it is working to expand its vaccination capacity and doubled it since last week. The region closed several mass vaccination centres at the end of the summer, allowing facilities to go back to normal and focusing on a mobile, pop-up clinic model to target specific areas. The region has indicated it plans to open up three new mass vaccination centres but has yet to announce where they will be.
Director of corporate communications Patrick Casey said the region is challenged with 650,000 residents now eligible for a booster dose, and another 55,000 region children five to 11 who need their first dose.
“That is a lot of vaccines to administer and not a lot of time,” Casey said. "We ask our residents to please be patient and understanding as demand for booster doses remains high.”
Casey said mass vaccination centres closed in the fall due to lower demand, and it takes time to ramp them back up again.
“We need to find more immunizers and secure spaces large enough to accommodate clinics," Casey said. "As well as operationalize set-up and bookings."
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said on Facebook the town is working to arrange facilities, but it takes time to set up.
“This will take a week or more, but we will have more clinics up and running soon. The opening of ‘18 plus’ came as a surprise, and we are doing everything we can to respond quickly," Taylor said.
Although some are facing struggles, others have been able to get appointments as York increases capacity. The region vaccinated more than 10,000 people Dec. 18 for the first time since July and has given first doses to 39 per cent of those aged five to 11.
Casey said vaccinations are not the only action needed, and the region could face six times the number of daily cases within a week. The region reported 335 cases in its latest update, with 1,799 in the last seven days.
“York Region will continue to analyze the situation and determine if further regional public health restrictions are required,” Casey said.
But Gifford said she gave up on the York Region booking system after struggling with it and signed up for multiple pharmacy waitlists. York Region residents can also use the online booking system by inputting a location outside the region, but Gifford is concerned about spreading COVID-19 through outside travel.
Although she said she appreciates how pharmacies have helped by “picking up the slack” from larger systems, more needs to be done to open clinics.
“This is an emergency situation,” she said. “We have to do what we have to do.”
