The head of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit urges people to cancel appointments for their shot of the COVID-19 vaccine if they get it elsewhere first.
CEO Theresa Marentette said between 40 and 50 appointments a day are opening up as people who were able to get it at a pharmacy or a pop-up clinic cancel their booked time at a mass clinic.
The health unit recently created a waiting list for people who are willing to come in at short notice, and Marentette said it is working well. She said the list is open now to those 30 and older.
For vaccination efforts, it means more people get their shot in a timely fashion, and no vaccine goes to waste.
If you had an appointment booked at the WFCU Centre, Sportsplex at St. Clair College, Windsor Hall, Libro Centre in Amherstburg, or Leamington's Nature Fresh Food Recreation Centre, but got one sooner, Marentette urges you to cancel your appointment so someone else can get in. You can cancel online at Wevax.ca.
Marentette explained why the health unit decided to open vaccination up to those 40 and up before essential workers listed as group two.
"We're hoping we are capturing people in the second group of essential workers that can not work from home," she said.
She said that the group is very large and a lot of them are 40 and older. She did not confirm when, but believed appointments will open soon for the cohort which includes grocery store workers and restaurant staff.
So far, the health unit said 195,597 doses have been given in the region, and 53 per cent of all adults over the age of 18 have had at least one.
Marentette also reported two new deaths from the virus on Tuesday morning. A man in his 70s and a woman in her 60s who lived in the community passed away over the past 24 hours.
Tuesday morning's update also revealed another dip in the number of daily cases. There were 28. Of those, 14 got it from close contact with another case the health unit is tracking. There were nine people who contracted COVID-19 in the community, and public health officials are still investigating where five others were infected.
The total number of active cases on Tuesday is 329, and 190 are ones that involve a variant of concern.
Fifteen local cases are in the hospital and three people are in intensive care. That total does not include those patients transferred from hospitals outside of Windsor-Essex.
Across Ontario, 2,073 new cases and 15 new deaths from COVID-19. There are 1,782 people in hospitals province-wide, and 802 people in intensive care.