DORCHESTER, ONT. -- The person who received the first shot at the first COVID-19 mobile vaccination centre in the London area was smiling under her mask.
Thames Centre Deputy Mayor Kelly Elliott led the charge to get the two-day pilot project clinic set up in Dorchester.
“It was great to use a community clinic to get in and get my vaccine,” she says.
Elliott, who also serves as a county representative with the Middlesex-London Health-Unit (MLHU), says in 24 hours 400 appointments were booked.
Following her vaccination, Elliott and Mayor Alison Warwick were out in front of Dorchester's Flight Exec Centre, where the clinic is ongoing Friday and Saturday.
Both contend the vast majority of people coming in the doors are not Londoners taking advantage of the quick access, but locals.
“I think there is a lot of people here today because it’s way more convenient in their own community and (they) feel more comfortable in buildings that they know, and it’s one less roadblock in getting vaccinated.”
Elliott says seniors hesitant to travel are a key group targeted by the clinic.
Jody Paget, the manager of MLHU‘s Vaccination Preventable Disease Team, acknowledges there are many reasons people continue to shy away from COVID-19 protection.
But she already sees how the mobile clinic has encouraged more to roll up their sleeves.
Jody Paget speaks in Dorchester, Ont. on Friday, May 28, 2021. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
At this point, she says there are no plans to offer walk-in shots to those who feel uncomfortable making an appointment.
“The challenge with the walk-in clinics is with the vaccine and being able to know how many individuals to expect to arrive in a day.”
And that’s may be partly why this is the first, and to this point, only moving vaccination site in the MLHU's region.
While long-term sites in London and Mount Brydges will continue, at this point, there are no plans to offer another mobile clinic.
Elliott says she will keep pushing until it happens.
“The need is there, whether it is Dorchester, Lucan, Komoka any of those places, for people to get their vaccine and to feel comfortable getting their vaccine in their community.”
