At times the line wrapped nearly the entire perimeter of Shoppers Drug Mart in Cobourg as people waited in line to get their vaccine on Saturday, April 17, 2021.
For the second day in a row, COVID-19 vaccine Astrazeneca was available for people 55-years-old and older.
A social media post on Saturday stated the vaccine was for “walk-in only” from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The post stated there was “minimal wait time,” but at approximately 11:30 a.m. the line was more than half way around the building.
The store was processing approximately 30 people an hour and between Friday and Saturday there was approximately 300 Astrazeneca vaccines available.
One person told Today’s Northumberland said they were driving by the store and asked someone who was in line what was happening. When the person told him it was for the vaccine, he parked and waited in line with the others.
Debra Westbrook and her husband Larry from Grafton had just found out about the walk-in on Saturday morning.
Westbrook who is 65-years-old and her husband who is 67-years-old had registered to get the vaccine in Napanee, but received a phone call stating their appointment had been moved to Cobourg.
Unfortunately on Saturday morning at approximately 5:30 a.m. Shoppers in Cobourg called them to say their appointment was cancelled and they had to wait in line like everyone else.
“I think it’s a terrible thing. For people to stand outside who had an appointment – what was the purpose of having us register, then assigning us an appointment time and then calling us an hour before to tell us our appointment was cancelled.”
Westbrook said she never expected the line up to be as long as what it was.
“I guess now though people who are 55 and up can now come, but we couldn’t get it when they opened it for the 65-year-olds. Then they opened it up for 55-year-olds and we haven’t been vaccinated. Why are they making it to a broader segment of society when they haven’t completed the ones they were supposed to do?”
“If we don’t bare the weather today, we may be out of luck tomorrow.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
