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Niagara Falls
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Community centre likely site for NOTL vaccine rollout

Niagara Region’s public health department doesn’t want to use the Virgil arenas for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in NOTL, Lord Mayor Betty Disero says.

Instead, the health agency is looking at the NOTL Community Centre and it’s very likely that will be the final location, Disero said in an interview Tuesday.

She said a final decision likely will be made Thursday.

Right now the region is also looking into how to co-ordinate different vaccine waitlists “that are floating around,” Disero said, “to ensure that everybody’s is going to be able to get a vaccine who wants one, so that there’s one co-ordinated effort.”

She said regional officials were to visit the community centre Wednesday.

“I think that sort of almost confirms it,” Disero said. “It was their choice. They want to look at the site.”

As long as there’s nothing the region can see that will prohibit the rollout, “that’s their preferred site.”

In November 2020, flu shots were also administered at the community centre via a drive-thru hosted by Niagara North Family Health Team.

Mary Keith, executive director of the health team, told The Lake Report at the time that the drive-thru was a good rehearsal for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine.

“I think we’re all hoping that we’ll be using this as practice for when we have a COVID vaccine,” she said. “Certainly with the positive feedback I could see us doing this again next year with the flu shots.”

Disero said while it’s not yet confirmed, she expects that will end up being the location.

“Nothing is 100 per cent until a final decision is made, but it seems like everything’s pointing in that direction.”

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