New COVID-19 vaccine given to select groups in Chatham-Kent; available to general public soon
Those looking to get the latest XBB.1.5 version of the COVID-19 vaccine can expect to do so starting the week of Oct. 30. The new COVID-19 vaccine has been given to select groups in Chatham-Kent, including residents in long-term care homes and senior centres. Currently, vaccination is limited to those older than 65, children age six months to four, pregnant woman, First Nations members, health care and front-line works. The vaccine will be available to the general public by the week of Oct. 30. The Moderna brand of the XBB.1.5 vaccine is currently available locally. A vaccination clinic for the current eligible group is scheduled for Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m., respectively.
Published : 2 years ago by Ellwood Shreve in Health
During the first two weeks of October the new vaccine was taken to residents in long-term care homes “giving it to our oldest population first, who are most at risk,” he said. In the past week, the vaccine also has been distributed to a variety of senior centres, Moco said. Currently, vaccination is limited to those older than 65 or children age six months to four, pregnant woman, First Nations members, health care and front-line works and those with chronic health conditions. Moco said by the week of Oct. 30 the vaccine would be available to anyone who wants it. He added information on booking a vaccine shot, including a pharmacy locator, is available on the health unit’s website at www.ckphu.com/covid-19-vaccines.
“We will be doing some small clinics here and there, but there should be a variety of places for people to get it,” Moco said. He said the Moderna brand of the XBB.1.5 vaccine, which targets the most prominent strain, is what’s available locally. He believes the Pfizer brand of the vaccine should arrive soon. A COVID-19 vaccination clinic for the current eligible group is scheduled for Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the health unit at 177 King St. E. in Chatham. Registration is required. Details are on the health unit’s website. While it is recommended people get the vaccine, history shows many Chatham-Kent residents didn’t heed this advice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on vaccine uptake was shared by former medical officer of health Mario Kangeswaren in September 2022 which put Chatham-Kent on the lower end compared to other public health units in Ontario. Kangeswaren noted differences between Chatham-Kent and the province overall in the rates for the younger-than-18 age groups for both first and second doses. As well, fewer than half of the Chatham-Kent population younger than 50 had received a third dose of the vaccine, the doctor said. In Ontario, the same was true about the population younger than 40.
Topics: Coronavirus