Hundreds get COVID-19 vaccine receipt printed, laminated at Arnprior library
Arnprior residents lined up in the rain Thursday morning at the Arnprior Public Library to ensure they had their proof of vaccination.
Last Thursday, the library started offering free printing and lamination of vaccine receipts from the Ministry of Health. Library workers say residents have been turning out in droves to have their proof of vaccination turned into a pocket-sized card.
"We're probably close to 400, probably more than that at this point," Karen DeLuca, the CEO of the Arnprior Library tells CTV News Ottawa. "Yesterday alone we were close to 200."
DeLuca says that of the variety of people coming to the library for the service, a majority of them are seniors.
"We've become kind of central for a lot of seniors who don't have access to a computer, or printer, or smartphones," says DeLuca. "We're a community service; we're all in this together."
One of those local residents at the library Thursday is Cheron Campbell.
"It's more convenient than carrying this (larger paper), and it will last longer," says Campbell, who says she only has a cellphone for emergencies, which isn't a smartphone. "I was more thinking of how does this work? And I knew I needed it, so my daughter printed this off for me and now I'm going to get it laminated."
"Well I'm from old school so I don't really know how to run a phone that well," says Chris Majaury, who also turned out to get his proof of vaccination. "This way if you have it on paper and it gets wet or something you can't really read it. A card you can put in your wallet or you can put it in the glove box of your car, keep it on you, or keep it in your back pocket."
In a statement, the Ministry of Health says Ontario residents will be able to use hard copies of their vaccine receipts to access certain non-essential businesses, even after the digital vaccine passport comes into effect.
"After October 22, 2021, in addition to proof of identity, a patron may present a paper or digital version of the PDF receipt or a paper or digital version of the enhanced vaccine certificate with QR code to gain access to designated settings," wrote Alexandra Hilkene, Press Secretary to Health Minister Christine Elliott.
Although the service offered at the library is free of charge, residents have been showing their appreciation for the help.
"People have been throwing in $5, $10, $20 to the donation jar, and that will go to our next order for laminate," says DeLuca. "We see this as a public service, so we'll find the money from different budget lines to make it work, because I think it's a very important thing."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.