OTTAWA -- The City of Ottawa is offering voluntary shuttle service for some residents who arrived at vaccine clinics on Tuesday with duplicate vaccine appointments.
Last week, the city and the province announced that due to an error with the provincial vaccine booking system, about 3,100 appointments in Ottawa were mistakenly double-booked. Residents were told to await a phone call or email from provincial officials to reschedule their appointments.
In a memo to city councillors, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches and Emergency and Protective Services General Manager Anthony Di Monte said the Eva James Memorial Community Centre was over capacity Tuesday morning. To rectify this, the city offered shuttles to other vaccine clinics for residents who were double-booked and who had not had their appointments re-booked by the province.
The shuttles will bring residents who were set to receive their vaccines at either the Eva James Memorial Community Centre or the Ruddy Family YMCA-YWCA to another site. Residents who choose to use the voluntary shuttles must still arrive at their original vaccination site first.
"Shuttles will be in service until later today. COVID-19 protocols are in place to ensure passenger and driver safety, and wearing a mask is mandatory," the memo said.
The city opened a temporary clinic at the François Dupuis Recreation Centre in Orléans and expanded service at the Nepean Sportsplex to accommodate the double-bookings.
"Staff recognize that the current situation is not ideal for our seniors. Daily discussions with the Province are ongoing to identify and address any issues as quickly as possible and continue with our successful local roll-out of vaccinations," the memo said.
The memo also noted issues residents have reported in the last two days in booking appointments. The memo said staff are providing feedback from residents to the province as they work to resolve the issues.
