Ottawa opening 10,000 new COVID-19 vaccine appointments this weekend
The city of Ottawa opened 10,000 COVID-19 vaccination appointments for the Infinity Convention Centre this weekend, as it receives an extra shipment of doses from the province and redistributes other doses.
In an interview on CTV News at Five with Matt Skube, emergency and protective services general manager Anthony Di Monte said Ottawa is adding another 10,000 appointments for the Infinity Centre this weekend.
"Five-thousand are additional doses that we were given late this week by the province, which is great, and another 5,000 that we had planned to use through another source that won't be used, so we're adding that as well to the system," said Di Monte.
"Over the next few days, we'll have about 10,000 doses added."
In a memo to council, Di Monte said the Ontario government is shipping 5,000 doses to the city that will be used this weekend.
The appointments are available between June 12 and 14 at the Infinity Convention Centre on Gibford Drive. As of 10 a.m. Friday, Vaccine Hunters reported no appointments were available at the Infinity Convention Centre this weekend.
Residents can visit Ontario.ca/bookvaccine to access the provincial booking system or call the provincial vaccine booking line at 1-833-943-3900 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
In a statement on Twitter, Mayor Jim Watson said the province's decision to provide Ottawa with addition doses shows Ottawa is doing a "good job" at vaccinating people as quickly as possible.
A total of 200,000 COVID-19 vaccination appointments have been booked for community clinics between June 1 and July 6.
"Every single dose of vaccine that we have available, we put on the system. We currently have over 200,000 appointments booked from now until July 6," Di Monte said Wednesday. "That's vaccine that'll be put in arms of older individuals but also all the other groups that are on the system."
Ottawa residents 12 and older are eligible to receive a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while anyone 70 and older and residents who received their first dose on or before April 18 are eligible for an accelerated second dose.
A published report Thursday said Ottawa was sitting on a large surplus of COVID-19 vaccines. In the memo to council, Di Monte said the reporting lacks "critical operational detail."
"Our capacity to administer vaccines scales with supply. On average, Ottawa has been administering 10,000 to 12,000 doses of vaccine per day. This pace has increased overtime in direct relation to vaccine supply received from the province," wrote Di Monte.
"We have, as a best practice, maintained up to a 48-hour buffer of vaccines. This means that up to 20,000 doses are held in reserve at any time. However, all these doses are allocated over the next 48 hours."
Di Monte says maintaining the 48-hour buffer ensures a vaccine is "available" for every resident at their confirmed appointment.
The city of Ottawa is using 10,000 to 12,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines a day.
The head of Ottawa's COVID-19 vaccine rollout adds the province providing Ottawa with nearly 5,000 additional doses on Friday shows Ottawa is getting vaccines into arms.
"Ottawa has a proven track record of getting vaccines into the arms of residents," said Di Monte.
"(Friday), the province is providing Ottawa Public Health with nearly 5,000 additional doses, which speaks both to this track record and disproves the idea that Ottawa is sitting on a disproportionately large surplus of vaccines."
Di Monte told CTV News at Five that if you have an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, there is a dose waiting for you and the appointment will not be cancelled.
"There's not vaccines in fridges that we aren't using, it's too important and we need to get those vaccines in people's arms," said Di Monte.
Mayor Watson issued a letter this week to Premier Doug Ford, calling on the province to provide 40,000 more doses to cover accelerated second doses for residents 70 and older.
As of Wednesday, Ottawa had received 663,610 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. The city says 91 per cent of the inventory has been administered.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Man convicted of involuntary manslaughter in father's drowning, told police he was baptizing him
A Massachusetts man who told police he was exorcising a demon and performing a baptism when he shoved his father's head under water multiple times has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in his death.
New Norad commander calls Canada's defence policy update 'very encouraging'
American troops will be spending more time training in the Far North, the new commander of Norad says, a strategy that fits 'hand-in-glove' with Canada's renewed focus on Arctic defence.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Are Canadians getting sick from expired food?
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.