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Niagara Region Public Health is busy preparing for the launch of our COVID-19 mass immunization clinics in the coming weeks.

Last week the 11 clinic locations were announced, and Public Health continues to work with these community partners to be ready once vaccine supply is available. The clinics will open and operate on a rotating basis, and will increase in frequency over the next few weeks as Public Health staff and volunteers work to get vaccines into the arms of Niagara’s 80+ residents as quickly as possible.

The selection process for these sites involved a complex matrix of criteria, including:

  • Ability to set up safe routing through the clinic space to allow for continued physical distancing
  • Free and ample parking
  • Accessibility, including entrances, exits, ramps, elevators, etc.
  • Temperature control for vaccines
  • Space to have a large amount people delivering vaccines at the same time
  • Drive time for large portions of our overall population
  • Accessible by public transit
  • Connectivity to cellular internet services
  • Public safety implications, with a focus on possible impacts to major roadways

Once vaccine supply is increased, the clinics will be supplemented by local pharmacies and family doctors, so that by the time the majority of the population can receive their vaccine, they can do so even closer to home.

Clinics for residents 80 years of age and older will be starting within the next couple weeks, and residents will be able to book their appointments through the Provincial online and phone registration system that is scheduled to launch on Monday, March 15.

As soon as we have more information about it, including the website link, phone number, and any other pertinent information, we will share it with the public.

We are grateful for the large number of people who responded to our call for volunteers, and we are still looking to fill a small number of paid staff positions to help run our clinics. More information about these postings can be found on our career portal.

The eagerness for vaccines rollout to ramp up over the coming weeks and months is appreciated and echoed by everyone at Public Health. We ask for continued patience as this next phase begins, as there is a lot of interest in vaccine appointments across the province, and wait times in the registration portals, both online and by phone, are possible.

As always, the most up-to-date and timely information about COVID-19 and our vaccination efforts can be found on our vaccination webpage.