City to complete COVID vaccinations at all Ottawa retirement homes Saturday

OTTAWA —
Ottawa will hit another COVID vaccination milestone on Saturday, completing the second round of inoculations at the last of 82 retirement homes in the city.

The news was shared by the Ottawa Paramedic Service on Twitter Saturday afternoon following a memo to city council shared by Mayor Jim Watson on Friday.

“By the end of the day, residents and staff in all 82 retirement homes will have received their first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses,” the Ottawa Paramedic Service said.

The city began vaccinating retirement homes in early February. By Feb. 23, more than 94 per cent of residents had received their first dose. Second doses began March 5. Eighty per cent of all retirement home residents had received a second dose as of Thursday.

Ottawa completed vaccinations in long-term care homes in early February and 95 per cent of all long-term care residents have had both shots.

“This milestone has been reached through the efforts of mobile vaccination teams comprised of staff from the Ottawa Paramedic Service, Ottawa Public Health, the Ottawa Hospital, the Queensway Carleton Hospital, Ottawa Inner City Health, community physicians and the retirement facilities,” the memo shared by Watson said.

Long-term care and retirement homes were targeted by the city for the first round of inoculations in part because residents in those settings were among the most vulnerable in the city, accounting for more than 80 per cent of all of Ottawa’s COVID-19 related deaths.

Vaccine appointments are now open for anyone in Ottawa born in or before 1941, as well as for all Indigenous adults born in or before 1971 and adult recipients of chronic home care in select neighbourhoods. Starting Monday, the province will open up vaccine appointments through its online booking system to anyone born in or before 1946. Eligible residents can also call 1-888-999-6488 Monday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to book an appointment.

You can check your eligibility for a vaccine appointment by using Ottawa Public Health’s eligibility screening tool.