Officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit say a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Westmount Shopping Centre will reopen this week to give Londoners more opportunities to get a booster shot.
The clinic, which previously operated at the mall in July, will reopen on Thursday, offering any dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on a walk-in basis between 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
In a statement, Dr. Alex Summers, the region’s medical officer of health, says the reopening of the clinic, located near the mall’s Entrance 1 off Viscount Road, comes as more people spend time indoors due to the cooler temperatures.
“We know COVID-19 is here to stay, and that it continues to circulate, so being up to date with your booster doses is the best way to avoid becoming ill from the virus this fall,” Summers said in a statement.
The clinic doled out more than 1,600 vaccine doses when it ran at the mall in July, according to the health unit. Overall, more than 1.2 million doses have been administered in London and Middlesex County since late December 2020.
All Ontario adults have been eligible to receive the Omicron-targeted bivalent vaccine since late last month.
Health unit officials say the recommended interval for a booster dose is six months after completing a primary series of vaccine or the most recent booster, however it may be given as early as three months after.
Those who have tested positive for COVID-19 are asked to wait three months after their infection before getting a booster.
According to health unit figures, while 92 per cent of residents in London and Middlesex have completed a primary two-dose series, only 58 per cent have gotten a booster dose, while just over 18 per cent have gotten two boosters.
Seventeen COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the region last month, while 13 were reported in August, according to the health unit.
The London Health Sciences Centre reported Tuesday that it was caring for 59 inpatients positive for COVID-19, including 15 who had been hospitalized due to COVID-19. Five or fewer patients with COVID-19 were in adult critical care/intensive care.
At least 64 LHSC staff are currently positive for COVID-19, the organization said. Two outbreaks are currently active, both at Victoria Hospital, located in B7-100 Mental Health and B7-200/PICU.