Booster doses now available for thousands of Ottawa residents
Ten months after getting her second dose, a glimmer of hope for one frontline healthcare worker.
"I’m feeling really good this morning," said Alicia Robblee, a COVID ICU nurse at the Ottawa Hospital.
Saturday the province expanded eligibility to new vulnerable populations, as long as they received their second dose at least six months ago.
- Individuals aged 70 and over (born in 1951 or earlier)
- Health care workers
- Designated essential caregivers in congregate settings (including long-term care home and retirement home staff)
- Individuals who received a complete series of a viral vector vaccine (two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine or one dose of the Janssen/Johnson and Johnson vaccine)
- First Nation, Inuit and Métis adults (16+) and their non-Indigenous household members.
Robblee booked her shot for later this month, and says she is eagerly anticipating the next dose.
"Along with most of my coworkers we’ve been 9-10 months since our second shot and a lot of people that I know really jumped at the chance to sign up first thing this morning so that we can get some extra protection," she said.
Not everyone was as successful as Robblee.
A bladder cancer survivor, 77-year-old Robert Mason spent Saturday morning trying to book a booster shot for himself and his wife, but was left disappointed.
"It took me about an hour, 45 minutes, online because it never gave me the option to allow me as an over 70 - I’m 77, my wife is 81 - to make a booking," Mason said.
Challenges with the provincial portal stalled his hopes for a booster. Mason is one of millions of Ontarians now eligible for the shot, but you need to be at least six months out from your second dose to qualify and to book an appointment.
"I was disappointed that the site wasn’t working and I couldn’t make a booking when I wanted the booking. I’m not asking for March or February, I figured a month from today is good enough time," Mason said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Minister of Health says the online booking portal is "working well" and asks people trying to book booster appointments further in the future to be patient.
"Public health units are responsible for adding appointments into COVAX and will continue to add new appointments over time," Alexandra Hilkene wrote.
Ottawa Public Health says appointments are currently available until November 21 and that additional dates will be added as eligibility expands.
Mason says he plans to try to book his booster again in a couple of weeks.
“For my wife and I, at our age, it’s important because we can’t afford to get sick; too many people our age have not made it and I don’t want to be in that position," he said.
The boosters come as Ontario’s case counts quickly climb. The seven-day average in the province has jumped to 426 after sitting at just 349 a week ago.
The reproductive number is also higher and for the first time since early October, the province recorded consecutive days with 500+ new cases.
"You can’t ignore it, you absolutely can’t ignore it," said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases expert.
"We’ll probably see a rise in cases, that might continue, the real question is how high is the amplitude of this wave and what are we going to do to make sure this wave is not high," he added.
Bogoch says when it comes to managing the latest wave the province needs to act quickly if it decides to do so, adding that waiting until hospitalizations rise will be too late.
"If you’re going to act you’ve got to act quickly, you can’t start changing course by the time hospitalizations start to go up," he said.
Still, healthcare workers are optimistic that boosters can stave off the worst of another fall wave.
“I really hope that people take the chance that’s given to them here to get that booster shot,” Robblee said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.