People who are pregnant in Chatham-Kent who have been waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine are now eligible for a shot and could get one as soon as this weekend.
Ontario's Ministry of Health confirmed Friday morning that pregnancy has been moved into the "Highest Risk" health condition category in Phase Two of its COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan. People within that group get priority when it comes to booking vaccination appointments.
The updated direction from the province follows a statement from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada that was released earlier this week, noting "pregnancy is a known risk factor for COVID-associated morbidity" and that the SOGC "supports the use of all available COVID-19 vaccines approved in Canada in any trimester of pregnancy and during breastfeeding in accordance with regional eligibility."
The Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit (CKPHU) tweeted out Thursday evening that anyone who is pregnant and wants to get a vaccine should call the local vaccination hotline at 519 351 1010 and leave a message indicating that you are pregnant.
Chatham-Kent's Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby said they have spots open as soon as this weekend at a special vaccination clinic, which is taking place on Friday and Saturday. That clinic also covers people with chronic health conditions.
A spokesperson for the CKPHU confirmed with Blackburn News that the chronic health condition clinics at the John D. Bradley Centre in Chatham, which now includes pregnant women, will be using the Moderna vaccine.
Those in the chronic health conditions group are being booked through primary care referral, but pregnant women can call to book an appointment themselves without a note from a health care provider.
Friday morning's release from the province also noted that "the extended dose interval of 16 weeks remains appropriate for this population."
CKPHU officials said pregnant women who are OK with an appointment a couple of weeks from now can also book an appointment online at http://GetYourShotCK.ca as soon as they update the page.
When it comes to vaccine supply in Chatham-Kent, Dr. Colby said the local vaccination clinic continues to quickly use up its supply quickly, adding that provincial officials reassured health units across Ontario on Thursday that they would not have to contend with less supply than what they have right now.
"I harp on this all the time, but I look forward to the day when we get enough vaccine that we don't have to prioritze anybody," said Dr. Colby. "We'll simply be able to vaccinate everybody that wants a vaccine."
As of Friday morning, 30,210 Chatham-Kent residents had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Colby said by the end of the week, that number should be closer to 32,000-33,000.
The CKPHU reported six new COVID-19 cases Friday morning and marked four more cases as "resolved." That bumped the number of active cases in the municipality up slightly to 40.
There are still two COVID-19 patients from Chatham-Kent in the hospital and one of the two local workplace outbreaks has now been been cleared.