As Ontario expanded eligibility for those in the London Middlesex area to receive their fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, Londoners lined up outside the Western Fair Agriplex Thursday.
Residents aged 60 and older in the London and Middlesex area are eligible for second booster dose of vaccine provided it has been at least three months since their first booster dose.
The province announced the eligibility expansion on Wednesday, with First Nations, Inuit and Metis people, and their non-Indigenous household members aged 18 and above, also eligible.
Fourth vaccine doses are available at the region’s two mass-vaccination clinics and at pop-up clinics. Vaccine shots are also available at pharmacies that provide vaccines and through primary care providers.
Joanna Zeelenberg, 79, said despite a bit of a long wait in line, she is happy she was able to get her fourth dose.
“I was watching the television all the time, I had it on no matter what I was doing in the house just waiting for them to tell us what day I could go get it.”
Ian Peer, 65, was also happy to see the eligibility expanded.
“I hope there is the uptick they had originally on the other ones, I know a lot of people have not had their third doses yet,” he said.
“Today has been a busy day for them, they said they were not expecting as many people so there was a bit of a wait but that was fine.”
Peer said he was not concerned with which vaccine he received, noting this time he got Moderna, but his third dose was Pfizer, and his first and second doses were both AstraZeneca.
Not everyone at the Agriplex Thursday was happy with the process. Several people looking to get a fourth dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Thursday afternoon turned down the available Moderna vaccine to wait for Pfizer.
Bob, 83, and Joanne, 82, MacEacatrn made an appointment to get their fourth doses at 2 p.m. Thursday, but left more than an hour and a half later empty-handed.
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Bob said the couple was told they could get the Pfizer vaccine when they went to check-in but found out right before they were to receive their shot that there was a limited supply and clinic staff were saving the remaining amount for those under 30.
“We can’t take a chance, we have had Pfizer, we are old people, as near as I know we can only die once. We can’t take a chance of taking Moderna and getting sick,” Bob said.
“I am very disappointed, they probably do not have half the employees in here today that they should and it’s a horrible show.”
The couple were given a card to skip the line, and say they were told to come back Friday when there would be more Pfizer vaccines.
In December, the MLHU said it would be prioritizing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 29 and under.
The health unit said the decision to prioritize the Pfizer vaccine for younger people is based on a recommendation made by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI).
MLHU officials have discouraged people from turning down vaccines based on brands.
The health unit has said the interchangeability of mRNA vaccines has been supported by experts at NACI and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
“It’s worth reminding everyone that Pfizer and Moderna are essentially the same vaccines with different packaging. Both offer good protection, regardless of which you’ve received previously,” said Dr. Alex Summers, medical officer of health for London-Middlesex in December.
Immunity from the vaccine wanes over time, something that is not uncommon, Summers says, resulting in a need for a booster dose to keep up the body’s defences against the virus.
Rob Campbell, 56, was also unable to get his second booster shot Thursday. He said there was a sign posted in his building that all residents who lived there were eligible for their fourth dose.
Campbell said he read that he could go get the vaccine between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. with no appointment needed.
“I show up and there is a gentleman telling people they are not accepting any walk-ins because they do not have the capacity and they also don’t have the vaccines.”
The fourth dose comes amid an uptick in hospitalizations across the province, and as wastewater surveillance data suggests COVID-19 infections are almost as high as they were in early January during the Omicron peak.
COVID-19 transmission within the London and Middlesex area is likely higher than at any other point in time during the pandemic, other than January’s peak, said Summers.
People looking to get a COVID-19 vaccine can find more information on the Middlesex-London Health Unit website.
– with files from Global News’ Matthew Trevithick
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