Same-day appointments, walk-ins accepted as Windsor-Essex looks to boost vaccination rate

Getting a COVID-19 shot in Windsor-Essex just became more accessible than ever as theWindsor-Essex County Health Unit looks to boost plateauing vaccination rates.

On Wednesday, the health unit announced that the five mass vaccination sites are accepting walk-ins for first and second doses, and same-day appointments are also now available.

"After months of full clinics and hard work to overcome challenges tied to providing enough vaccine to meet demand, local partners are experiencing a new challenge, ample supply but open appointment times," the public health unit said in a media release.

According to the health unit, a higher rate ofvaccination is needed toreduce the threat posed byCOVID-19 variants.

Since the vaccine rollout began in December,64.6 per cent of all Windsor-Essex residents 18 and over havebeen fully vaccinated. Across Ontario, the rate stands at 64.8 per cent.

The portion of adult residents vaccinated with one dose or more stands at 76.5 per cent, lagging slightly behind the province-wide figureof80.3 per cent.

Dr. Wajid Ahmed, medical officer of health, has saidhe thinks that some of the difference is to due to proportion of residents who work in Michigan and were vaccinated in the U.S. and are therefore not accounted for in Ontario's database. (The health unit has set up a pathway for those individuals to register their vaccination.)

In addition to offering walk-in and same-day appointments, the health unit is organizing a series of mobile clinics. The clinics are open to anyone who is over 12 but are being set up close to schools.

Despite youth being eligible since late May, just 53.7 per cent of those 12 to 17 have gotten either one or two doses of the vaccine.

The following clinics are running this month. Each clinic will be open from10 a.m. to 3 p.m.:

• Thursday, July 22- Centennial Central Public School inComber
• Friday, July 23-Assumption College Catholic inWindsor
• Tuesday, July 27- William G. Davis Public School in Windsor
• Wednesday, July 28- - Queen Elizabeth Public School inLeamington
• Thursday, July 29-Sainte-Therese French Catholic in Windsor
• Friday, July 30 - Assumption College Catholic inWindsor
• Saturday, July 31 - Frank W. Begley Public School in Windsor