LONDON, ONT. -- The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) has opened the region’s second COVID-19 vaccination clinic.
Media were invited to the opening of the clinic Thursday morning to witness the first shot administered at the Caradoc Community Centre in Mount Brydges.
Middlesex County Warden Cathy Burghardt-Jesson says, “This is really the glimmer at the end of the tunnel we have all been waiting for.”
Anne Doherty was the first to receive the vaccine. She is a caregiver to her parents who have already been vaccinated.
She says it is a relief to have it to protect them and others in the community and she hopes others will get the shot.
During the event MLHU Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Chris Mackie said that the health unit expects to administer 1,000 shots a day going forward.
He added, "With the new clinic here in Mount Brydges that capacity will expand ever further."
The clinic’s opening will help to better serve rural communities as vaccination programs continue to ramp up in the coming weeks and months.
Tracey Gordon, senior manager of the MLHU's COVID-19 program, says they hope to increase vaccination rates in county areas by having a clinic in that location.
"It certainly will help those people that may have difficulty with transportation. It provides a centre that is a little closer for them."
A new COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Caradoc Community Centre in Mount Brydges, Ont. opened Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
More details on who is eligible to receive the vaccine and how to make an appointment are available here.
Meanwhile the health unit is working on opening two more clinics in the London area at the North London Optimist Community Centre and an ice pad at the Earl Nichols Recreation Centre.
The Western Fair District Agriplex continues to administer vaccinations and was the first to open earlier this year.
- With files from CTV's Sean Irvine
