NDG walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinic targets population that has yet to receive first dose

Areas in Montreal where COVID-19 vaccination rates are falling behind are continuing to find success with alternative clinics. Notre-Dame-de-Grâce’s latest walk-in clinic at the Walkley Community Centre is open for its second and final day Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Even on a hot, humid, summer-like day on Friday, NDG residents were happy to wait in line for their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

“Actually, I was waiting to get mine, I was trying to book an appointment but then when I found out it was here, which is, like, walking distance from my house, I was more than excited,” said NDG resident Nichola Williams.

Williams said she came with a group of five or six friends because it was across the street from their apartment building. Having walk-in clinics like the one at Walkley within close proximity to those in need of the jab is among the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal’s efforts to break barriers to getting vaccinated.

“We have a large territory so this is why we’re doing this kind of pop-up clinics to make sure we’re reaching people where they are and making sure that also we’re sending people to their home,” said vaccination director at the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal Lucie Tremblay.

The borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce has been struggling to vaccinate its population. According to the latest statistics from Montreal Public Health, just 50 per cent of borough residents have received their first dose. That is below Montreal’s total vaccination rate, which sits at 59 per cent.

“Our borough has a lot of vulnerable residents, people who may not speak English or French, may not understand the implications of this. So it’s important that we have these kind of clinics to bring people in and to get them vaccinated,” said Sue Montgomery, Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough mayor.

As NDG is still working on its first dose rollout, the government is already focusing on the second shot. Quebec has cut the wait time between the first and second dose from 16 to eight weeks.

The association of pharmacists warns that they will not be able to give second doses starting on Monday like mass vaccination centres.

“They have plenty of Pfizer shots and their big vaccination centre, but in pharmacies where we’re not having as much as Moderna as we need, so we have to wait. So people are waiting and we need more shots,” said the president of the Quebec association representing pharmacy owners, Benoit Morin.

He says pharmacies can’t even open appointment slots because they have no idea when they will receive vaccine shipments. Owners are asking for people’s patience, and are reminding them not to call the pharmacy but to visit clic santé to schedule their second dose.