FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2021
LONDON, ON – The COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic, located at Western Fair District Agriplex, will resume delivery of COVID-19 vaccinations on Monday, February 8, 2021. The decision to re-open is in keeping with direction from Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. The vaccination clinic at the Agriplex will resume the administration of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to health-care workers who have been awaiting their second doses; all within the 42-day timeframe since their first dose. All clients affected by the resumption of services will be contacted directly to schedule their second dose appointment. Clinic hours of operation will resume from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., seven days a week.
Operations at the Agriplex clinic were put on hold on January 22, after the Federal Government announced a delay in the delivery of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to Canada, and there was insufficient local supply to continue operating the facility. While the Agriplex clinic was closed, the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) used the limited vaccine supply that was left to complete the first-dose vaccinations of all eligible long-term care home residents in London and Middlesex County, as well as in retirement homes attached to long-term care homes, and several high-risk retirement homes.
Between December 23, 2020, and January 22, 2021, 10,477 doses of vaccine were administered at the Agriplex clinic; between January 11 and January 29, 2021, MLHU has also distributed 3,850 first doses of the vaccine in long-term care and high-risk retirement homes. Efforts to administer second doses to residents in these settings began on February 1.
Select hospital staff, as well as residents and health-care workers in local long-term care and some high-risk retirement homes, have been the first groups to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Since the first doses of vaccine were delivered, guidance from the Province’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, which directs the allocation and eligibility criteria of the vaccine, has been adapted to recommend delivery of the vaccine to those who are at greatest risk from COVID-19.
Efforts to administer the second dose of vaccine to long-term care home and high-risk retirement home residents within 21 to 27 days of their first dose will continue, as more vaccine stock becomes available. If supply constraints continue, second doses for all other groups will be rescheduled up to 42 days after their initial dose, in order to ensure the most vulnerable in the community receive their second dose of vaccine.
“Now that we will receive an additional supply of vaccine in the region, it is encouraging that we are able to re-schedule second dose appointments at the Agriplex,” says Dr. Chris Mackie, Medical Officer of Health with the Middlesex-London Health Unit. “While the Health Unit’s focus remains on the delivery of second doses to residents of long-term care and high-risk retirement homes, we are hopeful we can deliver the second doses to front-line health-care workers who have been waiting for them. We appreciate the community’s understanding and patience as we work to prioritize the vaccine for our community’s most vulnerable.”
The Middlesex-London Health Unit will continue to provide regular updates on the eligibility criteria for recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine. Eligibility will be reviewed weekly by the Vaccine Prioritization Advisory Committee, based on the regional supply and Provincial direction. Visit https://www.healthunit.com/covid-19-vaccine for the latest COVID-19 vaccine information.
Media Contact:
Dan Flaherty, Communications Manager, Middlesex-London Health Unit, 519-617-0570
