A lot of movement has occurred on vaccines in the last week. Unfortunately the one movement we wanted — Main Street Pharmacy getting the vaccine — hasn’t happened yet. But Ontario is in the full swing of things now.
So here I am with another update as part of my ongoing commitment to you to help keep you aware of how to access vaccination.
This is going to be a long one so please bear with me!
Rather than having links throughout I will put them all at the end to make reading easier. If you don’t want to read the whole thing go to the links and find your category for more info.
If you got your vaccine out of Ontario (for example, if you’re a healthcare worker in Michigan who received it through work) please fill out the WECHU Out of Province Link below so we have accurate information on vaccination numbers in our community.
Vaccination in Michigan:
It was reported yesterday that Canada may allow citizens to go to the USA to get their vaccination and not have to quarantine when they return. This is only a report and has not had anything official announced or confirmed. But it may open a pathway for us in Windsor-Essex County to speed up the vaccination of our population.
Right now a note from your physician confirming the need for vaccination and confirmation of vaccination on return are what is speculated to allow crossing and return without quarantine.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE however do not use this as an excuse to go and shop, or go to restaurants, or see family and friends while you are over there. Besides jeopardizing your ability to return without quarantining, it may jeopardize the ability for others to cross and get the vaccine as well.
Believe me when I say, no one understands the desire to cross for other reasons more than I do, but now is not the time and this is not the way to do it.
The link to the media article stating this information is also below.
AstraZeneca:
The AZ vaccine has now been stopped in Ontario. This was due to the potential for vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia and not because of the efficacy of the vaccine. I want to stress to all of my patients and the people in the community who got AstraZeneca — you did the RIGHT thing.
Our area was considered a hotspot and has been hit hard by the second and third waves of the virus. By getting whichever vaccine was available, including AZ, you helped to blunt the damage it could have caused to our community.
Currently there is no guidance on what will happen for second doses. However recent comments from Dr. Tam and studies out of the EU suggest mixing and matching is a viable strategy.
Again this is not official guidance, or what will happen for certain, but just a heads up that you haven’t been forgotten about.
Pfizer:
Pfizer is approved for people aged 12 years and above.
Moderna:
Moderna is approved for people aged 18 years and above.
The following information is only applicable to first doses —
Pharmacies:
Pharmacies are now able to vaccinate anyone 18+ or who will be 18 in 2021. Please note, however, that some pharmacies have Pfizer and some have Moderna. So if booking for someone under 18 (but who will be 18 in 2021) make sure the location has Pfizer or your appointment will not be able to be completed.
There is still limited vaccine available for pharmacies and a backlog of patients waiting to get their vaccine. While we are still not currently a vaccination site, please have patience when you contact the pharmacies that do. They have a tremendous number of patients to get through and are working incredibly hard to get through this.
Pharmacies are required to book and manage their own appointments. There is no central scheduling tool that you can access to get an appointment.
You can find pharmacies that have the vaccine at the pharmacy locator link below.
WECHU:
The mass vaccination sites run by the health unit are scheduling anyone 18+ (or who will be 18 at some point in 2021 with the same Pfizer/Moderna caveat as pharmacies), Essential workers 16+ (or who will be 16 in 2021) and people aged 12+ (must be 12 at the time of administration) with specified health conditions.
16+ Essential Workers:
There are a number of criteria but in general if you cannot work from home you qualify.
Most education workers, critical response workers (911, CAS and critical infrastructure workers), enforcement and inspection workers, childcare workers, food manufacturing and agricultural workers, funeral workers, retail workers (grocery, non-clinical pharmacy workers, wholesalers, etc), essential manufacturing, water and waste management and several other less common roles for 16-18 year olds to be in.
If you are booking as an essential worker you must provide proof of employment (badge, paystub, or a letter from employer). A full list of qualifying workers can be found at the WECHU Clinic link below.
12+ with health conditions:
A full list of qualifying conditions can be found at the WECHU Clinic link below. In general most children with cancer, organ transplants, poor kidney function, intellectual disabilities, diabetes and respiratory illness qualify.
For both of the above categories, if the patient is under 16 years old a parent or guardian MUST accompany them to the appointment.
You can register for an appointment through WECHU by going to the WECHU booking link below or calling 226-773-2200.
If you are an adult member of a First Nations, Inuit or Metis community you can contact SOAHAC by going to their website below to register for vaccination.
For second doses:
Currently second doses are being scheduled at 16-week intervals except in exceptional cases. Second doses may be done earlier for certain priority patients with specific health conditions and certain healthcare workers.
A letter from your physician or specialist might be needed as a high priority patient to book your second dose. All second dose bookings must be done by calling 226-773-2200.
Please do not attempt to book a second dose if you don’t qualify, the decision to delay second doses has been done to support the mass vaccination of the population. The decision to do second doses on time for those populations is based on risk (from health conditions or exposure) and the fact that patients with those health conditions may not mount a fully effective immune response to a single dose.
For both Pfizer and Moderna the shortened timeline approved for vaccination is not the 21 and 28 days respectively but 26 days for both.
High Risk health conditions are:
– Treatment for malignant hematologic disorders
– Nonhematologic malignant solid tumors
– Transplant recipients (including solid organ transplants and hematopoietic stem cell transplants)
– Individuals undergoing hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis
Priority Healthcare Workers:
A full list can be found by going to the WECHU Clinic link below. In general if you are involved in the COVID response (vaccination, testing, treating), are part of a hospitals critical care or emergency staff, or are a first responder you qualify.
If you are an adult member of a First Nations, Inuit or Metis community you can contact SOAHAC for a second dose by going to their website below to register for vaccination.
As a final note, I want to thank all our community partners who are working hard to get this vaccine out to our communities to help get us through this. As always, if you have questions, please give us a call at 519-712-8800.
I will do my best to help you with the ever changing information regarding the vaccine and any other issues you may be having! Stay healthy, stay safe and get the vaccine when you can!
Michigan Vaccine Articles:
U.S. border agency says COVID vax not essential; Canadians could be denied entry
Canadians can drive to U.S. for COVID-19 vax and avoid quarantine, Ottawa confirms
Image by DoroT Schenk from Pixabay