Waterloo Region says more than 1,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered at a drive-thru clinic held at Bingemans in Kitchener over the weekend.
“The Region of Waterloo is finding new and creative ways to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible in our community. More than a thousand people received their vaccine today without even having to leave their vehicle,” said Vickie Murray, operations lead for the region’s vaccine distribution task force.
“The rollout is accelerating and becoming even easier for people to get their vaccine. With the help of valued community partners like Bingemans, we’ll continue to get even more vaccines into arms.”
Initially, the region said it would only be allowing those with appointments to drive through, but on Sunday, those still waiting to get their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine were allowed.
On Sunday, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic noted that 300 additional spots opened up for those needing a second dose but within an hour, those spots were claimed.
Regional Coun. Tom Galloway, who was also volunteering at the event, said on Twitter that some out-of-towners were coming from neighbouring areas to get vaccinated, which caused some angst among others on the social media site.
He responded by noting that the province does not have any restrictions on whether people can cross borders to get vaccinated.
In addition, the numbers on the vaccine distribution task force’s dashboard show that as of Friday’s update, 175,314 residents are fully vaccinated, whereas only 168,251 second doses have been done in the region.