Vaccination clinics opened throughout Simcoe Muskoka for eligible residents on March 1st, and the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) has been busy.
SMDHU’s Public Health Promoter Kara Thomson-Ryczko says 7,012 appointments have been booked between March 1st and the 7th, which was the first week eligible residents could sign up to get inoculated. She says 675 of those appointments were made in Muskoka with 225 coming on March 3rd at the Bracebridge Sportsplex and 450 at the Huntsville Active Living Centre on March 1st and the 5th. Thomson-Ryczko adds that due to a “lag” in the Health Unit’s data, she isn’t able to say how many people actually showed up for their pre-booked appointment.
According to the Health Unit’s website, all clinics are booked from March 8th through to the 16th. It’s noted that if you’re on the waitlist, you will be contacted between the 10th and 16th to schedule a time.
Those currently eligible to get a vaccine within SMDHU’s medical region are: adults 85 years or older, Indigenous adults 55 years and older as well as their adult household members, adult recipients of chronic home care, and very high priority frontline healthcare workers.
As of SMDHU’s latest update, 50,068 vaccines have been administered in Simcoe Muskoka since the shot became available in the region.