Walk-in third doses now available at Hamilton’s Barton clinic for those over 50

Hamilton’s Centre on Barton COVID-19 vaccine clinic has begun offering walk-in third doses for those aged 50-plus as of Wednesday.

With over 260,000 residents now eligible for booster shots as per the province’s “last mile” vaccination strategy, medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson says the city is looking to scale up third doses.

So far, only about 36 per cent of those in the city under 50 and eligible for a booster shot have actually gotten one.

“We should be able to meet the demand for anybody who wants a third dose to have one by the end of this month,” Richardson said.

The hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and parking around the area is free.

The province opened up third doses for Ontarians in mid-December and to date, all individuals eligible for a booster dose have been required to book an appointment.

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Close to another 2,000 booster dose bookings were made available through the city’s VERTO portal on Tuesday.

Individuals under 50 eligible for a third or booster dose, children ages five to 11 years of age, and those who want to attend another vaccine clinic location, are required to book an appointment.

With the city’s supply of Pfizer vaccines limited, shots for those over the age of 30 will be the Moderna mRNA vaccine.

Remaining supplies of the Pfizer doses are reserved for those under 30 for first, second and third doses since Public Health Ontario data shows the brand provides a lower risk of myocarditis and pericarditis in that age group.

Hamilton public health returned to large fixed vaccination clinics in November with the opening of the Mountain clinic at CF Lime Ridge Mall.

There are four clinics operating across the city as of the first week of January, including the David Braley Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton West 5th Campus.

Operating hours for Lime Ridge, the Braley Centre and the West 5th clinic can be found on the city’s website.

Hamilton’s health partners administered over 8,756 vaccine doses on Tuesday, an increase of about 1,200 shots day over day.

The number is on-par with the total doses given out across the city on the same day last week, which was slightly higher at 8,946.

Close to 45,000 doses have been administered over the past seven days, which is up from the estimated 42,000 given out the seven days before.

As of Jan. 5, the city has put about 1.07 million COVID vaccine doses into arms with about 448,000 second visits and 172,000 third shots.

Over 79.6 per cent of eligible Hamiltonians aged five and up have had a pair of doses while 84.8 per cent have gotten at least one shot.

About 86 per cent of residents aged 12-plus have had al least two shots, while about 88.7 per cent have had a first dose.

The city is still behind the provincial average, which has 88.2 per cent of those 12-plus with two doses and 90.9 per cent with a single dose.

More than 91 per cent of those aged 60-plus in the city have had two shots, while more than 45 per cent have had a booster.

Excluding kids aged five to 11, Hamiltonians in the 18-to-24 age group represent the lowest vaccination rates of those eligible in the community at just over 78 per cent having had a pair of doses.