Attempts to jump vaccine queue put clinic staff in tough spot, says vaccination official

As the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out continues in Waterloo region, some haven't been content to wait their turn and have tried to sneak their way to the front of the vaccine queue.

"It is a challenge for us every day," said Grand River Hospital vaccine lead Vickie Murray during a media briefing Friday.

Since the vaccine roll-out began, Murray said distribution has been a balancing act. She said her staff have likely turned people away who should've been vaccinated. At the same time, Murray said she's "quite sure" that others who were not among the province's priority groups have managed to sneak in.

"We have really struggled on this point," said Murray,who is also the integrated director of pharmacy for Grand River Hospital and St. Mary's General Hospital.

Asked for examples, Murray said people have said they were healthcare workers, when it was hard to tell for sure whether this was the case. Others have shown up at the end of the day to try and scoop up an "end of day" dose of the Pfizer-BioTech vaccine, which must be used up once the vial is open.

"That's a challenge for us because we want to make sure we find somebody in the prioritized groups to get that as well," said Murray.

Murray said her team's strategy plan is to err on the side of prioritizing vaccines in arms.

'Delicate' balancing act

But at the same time, she said, they must be cautious.

"If we let people in who did not have an appointment or were not in a priority group, the next thing we know is we have a lineup of people who heard about it saying, 'We want in too because we heard our neighbour down the street got in,'" said Murray.

"It's a very delicate balancing act."

As the vaccine roll-out continues and supplybecomes more widely available, Murray said she expects the situation will improve.

In the meantime, health officials are urging people to keep up with public health measures as the vaccination roll-out continues.

"The measures aren't easy but they are effective and your actions have, and are continuing, to make a difference," the region's medical officer of healthDr. Hsiu-Li Wang said at the media briefing Friday. "The light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter every day."