A new COVID-19 vaccination clinic hosted by ArcelorMittal Dofasco and Hamilton public health is opening up in the city’s east end.
Starting June 21, a community clinic will open at the Centre on Barton that will be open to both ArcelorMittal Dofasco employees and Hamilton residents who are eligible for their first and second shots.
In terms of distribution, a spokesperson for public health says there will be a “subset” of appointments allocated for Dofasco employees, with 85 per cent of available appointments open to the general public.
For the first few weeks, about 600 doses will be administered each day from Monday to Friday until the clinic ramps up to full capacity, at which point 1,000 doses will be given out every day.
Like most of Hamilton’s vaccine clinics, walk-ins are not permitted and appointments must be booked in advance.
Registration isn’t yet available, but public health said appointments will be added sometime in the next few days and can be booked through the provincial portal, the provincial hotline (1-888-999-6488), or the city’s COVID-19 hotline (905-974-9848, option 7) for those who don’t have a green Ontario health card.
To date, 68.3 per cent of all adults in Hamilton have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while between 11 and 12 per cent are fully vaccinated with two doses.
About 38 per cent of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 had received at least one dose as of Tuesday, and the city is hoping to increase that number with its ‘Book One, Bring One’ option at youth pop-up clinics.
That means anyone who books an appointment at one of those clinics is allowed to bring along someone 12 or older – including a parent, sibling, grandparent or friend – as a walk-in to receive their first dose, or second dose if they’re eligible to do so.