News

“My family got COVID-19”. Breaking the stigma associated with the Coronavirus.

Samantha Fox is not ashamed to say she had COVID-19. “I am comfortable saying we did have COVID-19, and we did everything right, and it still happened.”

Each day, through a combination of pop-up clinics, family physician and pharmacy vaccinators, and mass immunization clinics, thousands of Oxford County, Elgin County and City of St. Thomas residents are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Amid a more steady-stream of vaccine being delivered to the Elgin-St. Thomas and Oxford region, Southwestern Public Health is expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility several times this week to align with Ontario’s rollout timelines.

Today, Southwestern Public Health launched a Same Day Vaccination List to gather names of individuals eligible for the vaccine who can get themselves to a clinic quickly when doses are available.

HELP LIST: Helping Seniors Book Vaccine Appointments. Southwestern Public Health is helping those 60+ to book their COVID-19 vaccine.

Armed with the knowledge that older adults are most susceptible to severe COVID-19 infection and its complications, the health unit wants to ensure that the online booking system and the busy phone lines aren’t a deterrent to seniors getting their shot.

It was an emotional morning for the Southwestern Public Health region with first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered at the newly opened Mass Immunization Clinics in St. Thomas and Woodstock.

Southwestern Public Heath wants the community to know that while the first block of appointments for those aged 80 and over have been booked for the week of March 15, it is expected 5,000 new appointments will be available to eligible individuals for the week of March 22.

March 1, 2021 at 11:30 AM. Cold temperatures expected to begin in the afternoon on March 1 and continuing into the morning on March 2.