Keystone vaccine supersite hours reduced again

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This article was published 29/07/2021 (1894 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Keystone supersite in Brandon will see another reduction of hours as it will be open Aug. 4-7 for booked appointments and walk-ins.

But Brandonites will continue to have access to the vaccine, Manitoba vaccine task force operations lead Johanu Botha assured residents during a press conference on Wednesday.

“We don’t want to reduce accessibility inadvertently by reducing the hours or the days of the supersite,” Botha said. “The moment we get into the scenario that there’s a demand for greater hours or greater days at one of our supersites, we will open them back up to that.”

Botha said the province has been in a situation for quite a while where some parts of the days at the very large supersite have been pretty close to empty.

“There are more effective and efficient ways to get the vaccine to individuals while keeping the supersites open to the demand that’s still there for those individuals who have appointments for second doses.”

In the Prairie Mountain Health region, the pop-ups will continue.

“There can be pop-ups in the Brandon area to augment any hours issues,” Botha said.

Prairie Mountain Health has seen lots of pop-up clinics and has been “sort of the innovator Regional Health Authority that started with the doses in provincial parks. That sort of thing will continue in the area,” Botha said.

“Brandon will have the vaccine that it needs. If for some reason we think the supersite has a great demand, then we’ll open it up for longer.”

The Keystone supersite will be open on the following days and times for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines:

• Aug. 4 — Clinic and walk-in times are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

• Aug. 5 — Clinic and walk-in times are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Aug. 7 — Clinic and walk-in times are 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Homeless people, immigrants and newcomers to the province can get immunized despite not having a Manitoba health card. Vaccines will be available at supersites, community-led clinics or a mobile van. Consent will be done verbally with clinic staff on site.

A shift in the vaccine campaign is evolving starting on Sunday. The focus will be increasing community outreach and de-emphasizing volume. That shift includes adjusting the days and hours supersites across the province will be open. For up-to-date information on locations and hours, visit protectmb.ca/.

This shift will result in changes for staff including an adjustment in hours for some. Staff have been notified, and Shared Health is working with them in the transition.

To date, 1.75 million vaccine doses have been administered. More than 79 per cent of Manitobans 12 and up have received the first dose, Botha said.

“That’s less than one per cent away from the reopening plan’s third milestone for dose one. Almost 68 per cent of Manitobans who are eligible have had two doses,” he added.

A total of 1,759,911 doses of vaccine have been administered in Manitoba.

Fifteen medical clinics and pharmacies are regional hubs for AstraZeneca vaccinations. Individuals can use the online vaccine finder at manitoba.ca/covid19/vaccine/finder.html to find a location with available doses.

» kkielley@brandonsun.com