Starting Monday afternoon, some members of the Kingston population can receive COVID-19 vaccines at the Invista Centre.
During a media tour of the clinic on Monday, Mayor Bryan Paterson and Dr. Kieran Moore, medical officer for Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) Public Health, were available to answer questions from the media.
“This is a milestone moment for our community. There’s no doubt this day has been coming for a long time,” Paterson said.
The vaccine centre will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kayla Lee, public health nurse for KFL&A Public Health, noted that the vaccine clinic will likely be open for evening appointments once vaccine supply increases.
Patients arriving at the clinic to receive care are told to arrive 10 minutes prior to their appointment. There is an area for patients to wait following immunization in the event of allergic reactions, as well as an emergency area for patients to receive emergency care after their vaccines are administered. Paramedics will be on-site at the clinic starting Tuesday.
The clinic is currently vaccinating individuals eligible for the first phase of the vaccine rollout, which includes individuals living in long-term care homes, essential caregivers, and front-line healthcare workers.
The Kingston region has administered 5,814 first doses and 2,662 second doses as of Monday.
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Moore said the Invista Centre location will be able to immunize 3,000 people per day. Public Health aims to raise this number to 10,000 per day in the coming months, pending additional vaccine rollouts.
Vaccines will be administered in a “multi-component strategy” via temporary sites across the region, mobile centres, and providing direct access to vaccines by going to those who are unable to travel to a clinic.
With the facility opening, people over 80 will be able to receive their vaccines “in parallel” with the first wave of the population being vaccinated, Moore said. Due to recent outbreaks at shelters across the province, those in shelters are also eligible for the vaccine.
“It’s multiple streams running in parallel right now as we try to move forward,” Moore said.
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He added that Public Health will be consistently rolling out the vaccine to high-risk groups through the end of May, at which point it will reassess who is eligible. Moore also predicted the vaccine will be distributed to normal healthcare facilities by mid-summer, at which point lower-risk groups, such as young adults, will be able to get immunized.
“If we can get enough population coverage with the vaccine, I really do hope by the end of the year we’re back to—I think we’ll still be wearing masks—but I think we’ll be back to normal in terms of our life,” Moore said.
The region is one of six in Ontario being used in the soft rollout of the province’s vaccination booking portal, which will become public March 15. Through the rollout, public health officials will directly reach out to individuals over 80 to assist them in booking their appointments online.
KFL&A Public Health has also discussed implementing on-campus vaccination clinics at Queen’s and St. Lawrence College by fall 2021.
“We’ve already had a discussion with Queen’s University and St. Lawrence College about immunizing on campus because there should be vaccine availability for that population at that time,” Moore said.
“I think that’s just going to be brilliant to be able to immunize them as they move into residences if they haven’t been vaccinated already.”
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