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Younger residents to be part of expanded vaccine rollout

Journal Staff Sarnia-Lambton will soon have a “few thousand” additional eligible vaccine recipients now that Health Canada has approved the Pfizer shot for Canadians age 12 to 15, says Lambton’s Medical Officer of Health.
covid-19 vaccine

Journal Staff

Sarnia-Lambton will soon have a “few thousand” additional eligible vaccine recipients now that Health Canada has approved the Pfizer shot for Canadians age 12 to 15, says Lambton’s Medical Officer of Health.

It’s possible COVID-19 vaccine shot could be offered to local students at their school, Dr. Sudit Ranade said, adding he hopes that group of students will be immunized before classes resume in person this fall.

Ranade also said expanded eligibility for other age groups is only “weeks” away.

“As we get more vaccines over the next few weeks we’ll be able to expand eligibility further,” Ranade. “Of course, (we’re) looking forward to a day where there really is no eligibility beyond age. I think that’s just a few weeks away.”

Ontario said this week that with millions of Moderna and Pfizer doses expected this month residents age 18 and older will be able to book a COVID-19 vaccination appointments starting the week of May 24.

More 53,000 Sarnia-Lambton residents have already received a first COVID-19 vaccine, Ranade said, which has pushed the vaccination rate above 45%.

More than 5 million Ontarians had received a first COVID-19 vaccine dose as of this week, and about 386,000 have received their second dose.

Meanwhile, the virus continues to spread. As of Thursday, Sarnia-Lambton had 84 active cases, unchanged from Wednesday and the highest number recorded in two weeks.

Fourteen people were being treated in hospital, with 10 in the intensive care unit, a Bluewater Health spokesperson said. Eleven of the patients in care were from outside Sarnia-Lambton.

“It’s important to remember the severity of this disease, and its impact on our ability to deliver care throughout the system,” Ranade said.

If you are eligible and want to book your vaccination, visit the registration page at the Lambton Public Health website, https://lambtonpublichealth.ca/

A new dedicated Vaccine Call Centre opened this week. It is available Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 226-254-8222.

The call centre is intended for people with vaccine inquiries or anyone having difficulty booking an appointment online.


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