A Wednesday shift at London’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic has become a special memory for Dr. Jessica Hunter-Orange.
She and her sister, Julia Hunter, a Registered Pharmacy Technician at the London Health Sciences Centre, worked the same shift and administered doses of coronavirus vaccine together.
“She drew up the vaccine (and) I gave it! Quite the team!,” read one of Hunter-Orange’s tweets.
Speaking with 980 CFPL’s Jess Brady on Let’s Talk London, Hunter-Orange said she had been working one to three shifts per week at the vaccination clinic since January.
Her sister had been working there since late February.
“I said to her, one of these days, we actually will get to work together,” she said. “This past Wednesday (on) St. Patrick’s Day, it finally worked out!”
The sisters administered more than 70 doses of vaccine that day.
“To know we’re a small piece of the puzzle to ending (the pandemic) is wonderful,” said Hunter-Orange.
The London doctor works four days a week as a family physician with a focused practice in dermatology.
She’s open to speak with her patients about vaccines and offer any clarifications.
“I’ve had a lot of people who were hesitant (about) getting it, and (I was) able to take that extra minute to turn their thinking around, and now, they’re actually going to get vaccinated,” Hunter-Orange said.
“I’m happy to educate them. That’s a very important part of my job and all of us in healthcare.”
Since she began taking shifts at the vaccination clinic, Hunter-Orange had seen thousands of people walk out feeling less stressed than when they walked in.
“People are so happy (to) get their vaccine,” she said. “I have to tell you, I did shed a few tears. The first few doses I gave were pretty incredible.”
The London doctor also clarified that it doesn’t take much time to get a shot.
“Within literally a minute or two, I’ve given them the vaccine and half the time they say, ‘oh, that’s it?’ And I say, ‘yeah! It’s that easy.'”
London and Middlesex opened their third vaccine clinic on Wednesday at the North London Optimist Community Centre.
The newest clinic will have the capacity to see up to 2,000 people per day at full capacity. It will begin vaccinating around 400 people per day, which will increase as more supply becomes available.
The vaccine clinic at the Western Fair Agriplex has a similar capacity, capable of up to 2,000 people per day, and the clinic at the Caradoc Community Centre is capable of administering up to 550 vaccines per day.
According to the Middlesex-London Health Unit, a total of 54,508 doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered in the region as of March 14.
–With files from 980 CFPL’s Sawyer Bogdan