Still haven’t had your first dose? Head to the Halifax Convention Centre
Posted Jun 29, 2021 09:52:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
If you haven't yet had your first COVID-19 vaccine, you now can head to the Halifax Convention Centre.
The clinic at that location opened up to walk-ins for first timers on Tuesday.
As of this afternoon, around 50 people had already taken advantage of the opportunity.
“We also have a pop-up [testing location] upstairs in the observation areas of the clinic,” said site lead Renette Amirault-Laing at a COVID-19 briefing Tuesday. “So folks are welcome to come in, get their vaccines, as well as get a rapid test for COVID-19.”
“About a third of the people coming into the clinic are getting a rapid test … it's a one-stop-shop.”
At some point today, Nova Scotia reached the 900,000 dose milestone just one week after hitting 800,000.
Dr. Robert Strang said roughly 135,000 doses will be administered this week, 31,000 of those just today, which is a record.
Almost 73 per cent of the Nova Scotia population has now had a first dose, and around 20 per cent of us are fully vaccinated.
The province will enter Phase 3 of its reopening plan Wednesday morning, when fully immunized people coming from provinces or territories outside of Atlantic Canada can come here without having to self-isolate.
It's hoped we can move onto Phase 4 in another two weeks, but Strang said the Delta variant remains our biggest threat “with its high infectivity and the need for two doses of vaccine to provide protection.”
“So let's not give the Delta variant the conditions to thrive,” he said. “Get your first vaccine and move up your second vaccine, take the second dose appointment as soon as you can find one. Moderna and Pfizer can be safely mixed.”
There continues to be limited community spread in the central zone. Health officials are also dealing with a cluster in our area.
“With a number of individuals and families with many close connections,” said Strang.
“At this time there is no suggestion of broader community spread” from the cluster but “underimmunization is a significant factor” in the transmission of the virus in this situation.
He said some of the people involved are under the age of 12 and can't be vaccinated, “but there are also adults who are eligible for vaccination that have not yet been vaccinated.”
“This is what's happening across Canada, and we're seeing it in other countries as well,” he said. “Where we're continuing to see COVID activity really take hold is where you have communities where there is a less than ideal uptake of vaccine.”
Strang reiterated that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
“They've undergone extensive research and review, the same research and review that other vaccines are required to go through,” he explained. “Millions of people in Canada and around the world have received COVID vaccines and they are well protected and safe.”
“We've had a vaccine program underway since December and we can see the impact of the vaccine, especially its contribution to our rapid control of the third wave,” he added. “The vaccine is working right here in Nova Scotia, so there's no need to wait if you haven't had your first or second dose.”
