Mayor Drew Dilkens is reaching out to Windsorites who've already received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, to help them get their second shot from across the border.
Dilkens announced the launch of a waitlist on Friday that will collect information from those interested in getting their second dose from sources in Michigan.
Officials with the Windsor Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) are trying to find a feasible pathway that will help deliver vaccines that have been offered to Windsor from medical leaders in Detroit into Canada.
"We need a list of folks who are interested in this, so we know how many doses to consider procuring, but also what kind of space we would need and structure we would have to set up around delivering these vaccines," Dilkens told Blackburn News on Friday.
Dilkens says the goal is to have the vaccines imported from the United States and added into WECHU's pre-existing system. He added that they are willing to consider other options if roadblocks arise.
"There's all sorts of different ideas being put forward to us for our consideration," Dilkens said. "We're trying to find the pathway that makes the most sense, that's obviously the easiest and simplest to employ, and one that will help vaccinate the most number of people."
Talks of utilizing the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, or other border service sites are all options being considered according to Dilkens.
"The pathway for the border reopening, the pathway for the stages in Ontario, moving from stage one to two to three are all based on vaccination numbers," Dilkens said. "We want to help people in this community get fully vaccinated so we can reunite families, so that we can get folks back to work."
If Windsor-Essex receives enough additional supply from the U.S., it could permit for a reduction of domestic supply requirements to flow to the region, which could be redeployed to Ontarians further from the Detroit-Windsor border. This would only be possible if additional doses reach into the thousands.
Once a plan is in place, those who've signed up for the waitlist will be contacted. Dilkens says the health unit will work to ensure individual health records are updated to prove someone is fully vaccinated if their second dose came from outside Canada.
Eligible individuals must be vaccinated with one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech a minimum of 21 days ago.
A link to the sign-up page can be found on the mayor's website.