“It feels like a shot of hope” says Hamilton doctor as medical clinics begin vaccinations

Medical clinics in the City of Hamilton began vaccinating residents between the ages of 60-64 this morning.

Earlier this week the province of Ontario announced a pilot project that allowed some family doctors in Hamilton and five other regions to administer the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot.

“It’s our opportunity to test out the role of primary care in vaccine delivery,” said Family Doctor Kati Ivanyi, who is part of the cities vaccine planning group. Ivanyi  told CHCH News this morning that there were 4500 doses of AstraZeneca distributed to 12 family doctor offices in the city. He says that is enough to vaccinate 75% of patients in the 60-64 age range that are registered at the selected practices.

“We are hoping that there are lots of great lessons learned during these two weeks of the pilot and we are then hoping to grow it from there.” Ivanyi says the practices will reach out to you by phone or email if you are eligible for the vaccine.

Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization has not recommended AstraZeneca for anyone over 65. However, Hamilton residents who are between 80-84 will be able to book their BioNTech-Pfizer or Moderna vaccine on the provincial website starting on Monday.

Toronto, Peel Region, Guelph, Peterborough, and Simcoe-Muskoka are also part of this pilot project.