While the future of COVID-19 vaccination in Waterloo Region appears to be much brighter, Monday was a dose of reality as there were just over 1,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines delivered while three of the major clinics in the area remained shuttered.
A spokesperson for the vaccine distribution task force told Global News that limited supply was to blame as there were just 1,006 doses administered.
“Our largest clinics were all closed on Monday (Cambridge Pinebush, The Boardwalk, Health Sciences Campus Kitchener). The number of doses administered reflects this,” Sharon Ord said in an email.
The task force changed its dashboard on Tuesday, with figures now available for how many doses have been administered to area residents as well as to those outside of the region.
In total, 229,677 vaccinations have been completed but only 220,138 have been administered to local residents.
Ord says area clinics do not turn away people based upon where they reside.
“We aren’t advertising that people from other localities can get their COVID-19 vaccine in Waterloo Region and we don’t know why some people are choosing to get the vaccine in a different community from their own,” she explained.
“That said, we aren’t turning away people who are eligible for the vaccine because of where they live.”
Another change was an unexplained decision to remove the percentage of the total population who have been inoculated from the dashboard, leaving just a higher percentage of those who are above the age of 18.
The goal is to get 75 per cent of area residents inoculated, according to the website, not just those above the age of 18.