Ottawa seeing 300-400 vaccine appointment no-shows a day at community clinics
The head of Ottawa's COVID-19 vaccine rollout insists no doses are going to waste, despite hundreds of no-shows each day for an appointment at a community clinic.
Emergency and protective services general manager Anthony Di Monte says the city is seeing 300 to 400 no-shows daily at community clinics.
"Community clinics currently offer between 10,000 to 12,000 vaccine appointments per day. Of these planned appointments, anywhere from 300 to 400 no-shows may occur across all community clinics combined," said Di Monte in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.
"Any unclaimed doses are used in accordance with the Province of Ontario’s plan and ethical framework for vaccine distribution. This ensures that all unclaimed doses are reallocated and administered."
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Di Monte said the numbers of no-shows for appointments is not significant, but "it does seem to be increasing."
"We are keeping a very close eye on it. I want to reassure you, there's no loss."
Di Monte says Ottawa Public Health and the city have a list of priority groups, including priority healthcare groups that will receive any unused vaccines at the end of the day.
He added that staff will only prepare vaccines at clinics to meet the daily needs.
"The clinical staff and the staff that are in the clinics only thaw out and prepare vaccines a little bit a head of time," said Di Monte.
"If there are a hundred no-shows in a clinic at the end of the day, those 100 vaccines aren't lost because they aren't thawed out and they're not prepared or diluted, and they'll be ready for the next day."
Di Monte says Ontario has recently launched a tool to help residents reschedule or cancel their vaccination appointments. You can visit, https://vaccine.covaxonbooking.ca/manage.
In late May, the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health unit reported a "high number of no-shows" at clinics. There were over 25 no-shows at clinics in Kingston and Napanee on May 30.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.