'The calm before the storm': Vaccine clinics a bit busy with boosters, but getting ready for kids' shots

On a cloudy weekday morning almost a year after COVID-19 vaccines first became available, there is still a steady stream of people stepping up to the vaccine clinic at the mall in the small town of Parry Sound, Ont. 

Provincially, vaccine clinics are giving out as few as 13,000 shots per day this fall, compared with 268,000 a day back in June. 

Rob Stewart drove in from Port Carling to get his third COVID-19 shot, a day after he became eligible for the booster.

"I was one of the early people to get the first one and as soon as I could get the second I got the second one," says the 65-year-old.

"If there's a fourth one I'll get it too."

Madison Byron, a registered nurse and clinic lead for the North Bay-Parry Sound District Health Unit, says they've had a steady stream of people coming to get their third shot and still "quite a few" getting their first doses of COVID vaccine.

She says some say it's required by their employers, while others were "waiting to see how other people did with it or some new research has come out that makes them more comfortable."

But Byron says many are clearly unhappy to be rolling up their sleeves. 

"To be frank yes, but it is ultimately their decision to come out and get vaccinated, so we're happy to see that," she says.

"Sometimes after speaking with nurses and getting information first hand they feel more comfortable with it."

To the south in Orillia,  public health nurse Justine Bartlett says the booster shots have not been as popular. 

She says the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is trying to get the word out about the third doses, while at the same time preparing for children aged five to 11, expected to be eligible for the vaccine shortly.

"We have been gathering statistics about how many children in each area within Simcoe-Muskoka fit into that five to11 category," says Bartlett.

"Depending on the area, there are quite a few. So we expect clinics to ramp up, perhaps 300 to 400 appointments a day. So we'll be seeing a similar pace to what we did in the mass clinics. The calm before the storm, absolutely."

Bartlett says once a pediatric vaccine is approved, booster shots will shift to pharmacies so health unit clinics can concentrate on younger arms. 

And Bartlett says they are still getting some first-timers trickling in.

As a citizen of the Chippewas of Georgina Island, 48-year-old Ron Charles could have gotten vaccinated almost a year ago.

But he says he held off because he's suspicious of non-traditional medicine.

What prompted him to come to the clinic in Orillia this week was the two-month-old provincial law requiring proof of vaccination for many public places. 

"Get my shot for my kids, so I can do stuff with them," says Charles.

"You need a card to go anywhere now. Indoor playgrounds, restaurants."

But despite being hesitant about the vaccine for the past year, Charles says he wasn't nervous once he decided to get it done. 

"Hope everybody stays safe. Get your shot," he says.