From Ward 21 Councillor Scott Moffatt: Ward 21 office receiving calls about rural vaccination clinics
In recent days, our office has started to receive questions about vaccinations clinics in the rural area. At our last Council meeting on Wednesday, February 24, Council requested the list of high priority neighbourhoods that would be offered COVID-19 vaccines through pop-up clinics. Of note, none of these high priority neighbourhoods are in the rural area.
As the City works through the list of high priority areas, the pop-up vaccination clinics will only be available to individuals who are born in or before 1941 or who are adult recipients of chronic home care and who live in these neighbourhoods. For lack of a better way, the City will be using the boundaries of the neighbourhoods as classified by the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study (ONS), can be viewed on ONS Neighbourhood Maps website.
The location of additional clinics will be announced on Mondays as staff proceed through planning for these neighbourhoods in the coming weeks. Details on the roll out to the next priority neighbourhoods including specific maps will be provided on a regular basis moving forward. The first three neighbourhoods identified are the following:
- Emerald Woods – Sawmill Creek
- Ledbury – Heron Gate – Ridgemont
- Riverview
The City is asking residents who are not eligible for the vaccine pop-up clinics not to call this booking phone line, as it is only for eligible residents. Please help us keep phone lines open for those who are eligible to receive a vaccine. To confirm that you are eligible for vaccination, please visit Ottawa Public Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Screening Tool. In addition, it is important to note that the phone line staff are unable to make any exception to the eligibility as listed on the screening tool.
The City’s Emergency Operations Centre and Ottawa Public Health are doing everything possible to ensure Ottawa residents who want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine will be able to access it as quickly and efficiently as possible, dependent on vaccine supply and in alignment with the provincial framework. The total amount of vaccines that will be distributed to the City of Ottawa and precise delivery dates are not yet known. These decisions are made by the province and subject to vaccine procurement from the federal government.
The City of Ottawa has identified the following locations for future community clinics to administer vaccines:
- Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue W.
- Horticulture Building, 1525 Princess Patricia Way
- Eva James Memorial Centre, 65 Stonehaven Drive
- Ruddy Family YMCA-YWCA, 265 Centrum Boulevard
- Nepean Sportsplex, 1701 Woodroffe Avenue
- Canterbury Recreation Complex, 2185 Arch Street
- St-Laurent Complex, 525 Coté St.
Please note these community clinics are not yet in operation. They can, however, be stood up within 72 hours in the event large amounts of vaccines become available.
In addition to community clinics, mobile vaccination teams will continue to be deployed as needed to reach targeted populations, including homeless and rural residents. Pop-up clinics will also be set up at select sites for multiple days but are not permanent. They will be located in neighbourhoods experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 transmission.
Timelines for opening community clinics will depend on vaccine supply and community clinics will be opened incrementally as supply increases. Under the province’s phased approach to vaccine roll-out, these community clinics are unlikely to be fully operational until Phase 2 (starting April 2021), dependent on vaccine availability.
Once fully operational, these community clinics will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days a week and have the capacity to administer a total of nearly 11,000 immunizations per day.
I very much understand the desire to see clinics offered in our rural communities. I have been discussing this with our Vaccination Task Force in recent days. As the vaccine supply continues to ramp up, we are anticipating that pharmacies and medical centres will be including in the deployment strategy by the Province. Our team will certainly keep an eye on this and ensure to keep you informed.
Browse April Break eGuides
March Break has been rescheduled to April, so we have moved our popular in-person camps to April and added virtual activities that you can do from home. Check out the April Break Camps eGuides at ottawa.ca/recreation. Registration is now open!
The April Break camps provide interactive in-person and virtual activities in English and French for children and youth between the ages of 6 to 14. The full-day, in-person day-camps will be offered at select locations throughout the city. These camps provide participants with the opportunity to delve into arts, games and other fun activities – all practiced with physical distancing and safety protocols in place.
The virtual offerings allow you to mix and match half-day sessions to pique your child or youth’s interest in the arts or technology. Virtual programs are being offered in both languages and include:
• Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) exploring robotics and using LEGO® for construction and design
• Hip hop dance
• Animation
• Visual arts
Registration is easy. Just sit down with your child and explore the in-person and virtual eGuides for any activities that spark their passion. Then follow these simple steps:
1. Go to ottawa.ca/recreation for in-person camps and ottawa.ca/virtualprograms for online programs and click on the guide links.
2. Click the relevant barcode – it will take you to join.ottawa.ca and the course page, with details about the number of spaces available, fees and dates.
3. Add the class to your cart and then proceed through the check out. We’ll email you your receipt.
If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at Scott.Moffatt@ottawa.ca or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Ward 21 issues, please visit TeamTwentyOne.ca.
