By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
The Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit announces a standby list for area residents for any COVID-19 vaccine doses that remain available at the end of one of its immunization clinics.
Residents of Northumberland County (as well as those living in Haliburton County and the City of Kawartha Lakes) can visit the health unit website to register to potentially receive a vaccination at the end of a clinic day.
By registering with contact information, residents are in line to receive a call to come to a clinic at the end of the day if vaccine doses remain.
The health unit stresses that this is not a booking tool, as participants will only be called if there are extra doses available.
“We know some of our residents are still looking to receive their first or second dose of vaccine, and we are hoping this standby list will provide another option for those individuals,” Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Natalie Bocking said in the announcement.
“There could be leftover doses for a variety of reasons. Our goal is to ensure that vaccine gets into someone’s arm rather than be wasted.”
The standby list is open to anyone wishing to receive a first or second dose of vaccine. As of Monday, any Ontarian aged 18 and over is eligible to receive their second dose of vaccine as long as the minimum interval outlined in the product monograph has passed (28 days for Moderna, 21 days for Pfizer).
To qualify for the standby list, participants:
must reside in Northumberland County, Haliburton County or the City of Kawartha Lakes
must be able to attend the specified location within 25 to 30 minutes of receiving a call
In order to register:
Go to www.hkpr.on.ca and visit the COVID-19 Standby List page
Between 8 a.m. and noon, click on the link to a location you can reach quickly (standby registrations may close early if the list is full)
Register each day you are available. Lists will be cleared daily to ensure they are current
Register for only one location in any one day
Health unit clinics offer one of Health Canada’s approved mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna). The health unit will not identify in advance what vaccine will be offered at a clinic, but reminds everyone that these vaccines are interchangeable.
“As these end-of-clinic doses are not guaranteed, we still encourage our residents to continue to try to book an appointment through the provincial booking system, a local pharmacy or through their local family health teams or community health teams,” Dr. Bocking said.
“As we see the province move into the next step of reopening, it’s important that everyone continues to ensure they get both doses of vaccine so they are fully protected.”
To use the standby list, participants:
How to Register:
· On the Health Unit’s website: www.hkpr.on.ca and visit the page: COVID-19 Vaccine – Standby List.
· Between 8 am and noon, residents can click on the links provided to register for a clinic they can attend quickly. Standby lists may close before noon if the list is full.
· Residents will need to register each day they are available. Lists will be cleared daily to ensure they are current.
· Residents should register for only one region/clinic each day.
Health Unit clinics offer one of Health Canada’s approved mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna). These vaccines are interchangeable. The Health Unit will not identify in advance what vaccine will be offered at a clinic.
“As these end of clinic doses are not guaranteed, we still encourage our residents to continue to try to book an appointment through the provincial booking system, a local pharmacy or through their local family health teams or community health teams,” says Dr. Bocking. “As we see the province move into the next step of reopening, it’s important that everyone continues to ensure they get both doses of vaccine so they are fully protected.”
