Last provincially run COVID vaccine clinic closes

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This article was published 27/02/2023 (1163 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — On the last day of the last provincially run COVID-19 vaccine clinic, it was smooth sailing.

Minutes after the 1680 Notre Dame Ave. vaccine site opened its doors at 9 a.m. Saturday, people began filtering in. Most were families with young children, and among those families was couple Jesse and Natascha Jamison, who brought their three young children to the site to check who was eligible to get their updated COVID-19 vaccines.

Walking out, Natascha and five-year-old Julianna were, as they put it, “topped up for immunity.”

“We do have asthma in our family, so we’re always topped up on everything,” Natascha said.

They picked the spot because it was the most convenient location on a Saturday, and had no idea they had gotten in just before the centre was closing for good.

“It makes sense that we’re on the tail end of the pandemic, so there’s less [clinics] there — logically, it’s understandable,” Jesse said.

Another family, Jamie Orford and his 11-year-old daughter, Amy, said coming to get Amy boosted at the Notre Dame site was just a matter of convenience and wanting to get the appointment as quickly as possible.

“It’s just better to be safe than sorry,” Amy said.

Like the Jamisons, neither knew it was the last provincial site, or that it was its last day.

Orford said he worried people who would’ve come to provincial sites will now fill up already-overfilled doctor’s offices and pharmacies.

“I think they should consistently have at least one clinic where you can walk in, walk out, get vaccinated,” Jamie said.

Inside, a small rush of around a dozen people in the morning were quickly seen by a well-oiled machine of nurses. Two of the nurses sat at five tables and administered vaccines, while others worked inside booths meant for young children, noted by detailed whiteboard drawings of Winnie the Pooh and Pokemon characters.

They were taking appointments and walk-ins, but one nurse commented that walk-ins seem to be more prevalent that day.

Nurses had the time to check on people in the small makeshift waiting area, to play with the children who quickly turned from crying to happy after getting their shots. There were no lineups.

It wasn’t the controlled chaos of the pandemic pandemonium of previous years, but rather a quiet, calm experience.

The clinic is the last of 11 province-run clinics that popped up across Manitoba throughout the vaccination phase of the pandemic, which began in December 2020. In just over two years, 1.7 million doses were given to Manitobans at these locations, or about half of the 3.4 million doses given across the province.

The Notre Dame vaccine site handed out nearly 30,000 doses since it first opened Sept. 27 of last year.

While that number may seem large, Arnold Chew, the regional manager of the Notre Dame site and what was once the RBC supersite, said at their peak, they were vaccinating upwards of 12,000 people a day.

“When the first booster was introduced, the earlier fall booster campaign provided a lot more vaccinations,” he said. “And then it has slowed down after January.”

The RBC Convention Centre vaccine supersite closed its doors Sept. 17.

The Notre Dame site always drew a steady stream of people, Chew said, especially from Manitoba’s senior population.

Beginning in March, vaccine clinics will be operated by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority through pop-ups at ACCESS centres across the city. Appointments and walk-ins will be available at these pop-ups.

The pop-ups will canvass the city, and the change is meant to give those still looking to get a COVID-19 vaccine a chance to get one without having to make a long trip, Chew said.

“The program itself should really be accessible to individuals in certain areas. So if we move to ACCESS centres, then it’s a lot more accessible,” he said. “At that point in time, Shared Health is moving to the WRHA, so they will do their vaccination programs under their umbrella.”

When asked if the province would ever reconsider the supersite model if the need becomes obvious, Chew said they are now prepared for whatever comes next.

“We are prepared for any future pandemics that we have, and we have a really good blueprint,” he said.

» Winnipeg Free Press