Limited COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment Availability Until More Vaccine Arrives
Written by Communications, March 26, 2021
Peterborough Will Wait Until Next Week to Immunize People Born After 1946
At this time, Peterborough continues to offer COVID-19 vaccine appointments to people born in 1946 or before.
With Toronto opening up appointments for residents aged 70 years and over, more public health units will begin to open up appointments to their residents born in 1951 or earlier starting next week. The provincial COVID vaccine booking system will rely on postal codes to allow residents 70 years and over in some communities to book appointments. Peterborough is planning to open appointments to this age group mid- week, once more of our older residents have been immunized.
“Call volumes have been strong since the province announced last Friday that adults 75+ were eligible for vaccinations. It has been a fine balance to ensure we open up just enough appointments to match our current vaccine supply. We are still finding a high demand for appointments and have experienced delays in the booking system due to issues outside of our control,” said Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health. “As of this morning, we are back online and on the phone with more vaccination appointments available and we want to provide a few more days of access for people born in or before 1946 before opening up bookings to the next age group.”
Peterborough Public Health would like to remind residents that once they are eligible to book a vaccine appointment they will always remain eligible. These residents will be able to book an appointment at any clinic that comes up on the online booking system. “We appreciate the patience of our residents as we work to ensure we continue to immunize remaining priority groups in Phase 1 at the same time that we open up access to our Phase 2 populations,” said Dr. Salvaterra.
Eligible residents unable to find an appointment are advised to try again the next day as new appointments become available every day. Those requiring phone assistance to book should avoid calling on the first few days after a new age group is announced as volumes are very high and wait times can be long. It’s best to wait a few days in order to avoid the rush.
In the meantime, residents are encouraged to review the consent form before getting vaccinated. If residents require a vaccine consultation, they are asked to discuss this with their health care provider before booking an appointment.
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For further information, please contact:
Brittany Cadence
Communications Manager
bcadence@peterboroughpublichealth.ca