Health Unit Asks People to Rebook or Get Second Dose Appointments Earlier to Boost COVID-19 Protection

If you have a second dose appointment scheduled after August 3, the local Health Unit is asking you to immediately rebook sooner  or ‘walk in’ for your COVID-19 vaccine. 

With the more infectious Delta variant now being the most common strain of COVID-19 in Ontario, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit is urging anyone age 12 years and older to get their second vaccine dose as soon as possible so they are  fully protected. Currently, there are plenty of COVID-19 vaccine doses available and many places in which to get immunized in Haliburton County, Northumberland County and the City of Kawartha Lakes. 

As of August 3, the Health Unit is cancelling all second dose appointments from the provincial booking system made in August,  September, October, and November at its COVID-19 vaccination clinic sites in Minden, Cobourg, Fenelon Falls and Campbellford.  

“With ample COVID-19 vaccine supply and many vacant appointments this week, we are asking people not to delay getting their  second dose,” says Dr. Natalie Bocking, Medical Officer of Health with the HKPR District Health Unit. “As fall arrives, we expect to  see an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in our area. People who have not received both doses of their COVID-19 vaccine  will be most at risk, so the sooner everyone is fully vaccinated, the better our communities will be protected.” 

There are a number of ways people can get a second dose (or first dose) of COVID-19 vaccine:  

• Use the provincial booking system to reschedule an earlier second dose appointment. Visit www.ontario.ca/bookvaccine or call 1-833-943-3900. The Health Unit has many appointments available for the rest of July and more appointments are  being posted for August. All clinics will be offering both mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna). 

• ‘Walk in’ to a Health Unit COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Cobourg, Minden, Fenelon Falls, and now Campbellford. Dates for these clinics are listed on the Health Unit website at www.hkpr.on.ca. A drive-in vaccination clinic is also offered at the LEX  site in Lindsay run by Ross Memorial Hospital.  

• Sign up for a ‘standby list’ at Health Unit vaccine clinics to be called if there are extra COVID-19 doses available near the  end of the day. Full instructions to sign up are available at www.hkpr.on.ca.

• Check with your primary care provider to see about getting vaccinated. Many Family Health Teams and community health centres in the area are providing doses. 

• Contact a local pharmacy to get vaccinated. Select pharmacies in the area are offering mRNA vaccines, and appointments  can be made directly with the pharmacy. Visit Ontario’s Pharmacy COVID-19 Vaccine web page to search pharmacies by  town, postal code, and vaccine type. 

“We appreciate everyone’s understanding to rebook second dose appointments earlier or walk in for a vaccine,” says Dr. Booking. “Getting needles into more arms as quickly as possible is the best way to fight COVID-19 and the Delta variant.”