COVID fourth doses available starting Thursday, April 7

Southwestern Public Health has announced that, as of Thursday, April 7, its mass-immunization clinics in St. Thomas and Woodstock would welcome anyone 60 or older for a fourth dose of COVID–19 vaccine.

Anyone 18 or older from a First Nations, Inuit or Metis household would also be eligible.

The health unit advised that while a fourth dose could be administered as soon as three months after the third, it was suggesting waiting five months before seeking the fourth.

The mass clinics in St. Thomas and Woodstock would be open on a first-served, walk-in basis, SWPH said. They’re closed from 12 noon to 1 p.m. daily for lunch.

Pop-up clinics planned for April 7 through 14 would be cancelled to free staff for the mass clinics.

A Tillsonburg clinic planned for April 14 and April 28 would still proceed, and the GO-VAXX provincial immunization bus now at East Elgin Community Complex would remain there through Thursday, April 7.

Participating pharmacies and health care providers would also be administering fourth doses to those who were eligible.

COVID-19 vaccination Program Officer Jaime Fletcher said the COVID-19 vaccine decreased in effectiveness over time, and those who were most vulnerable to potentially serious consequences from the virus should seek a fourth dose to boost immunity.

The health unit was expecting high demand for the fourth doses, so it was asking everyone to be patient.