As more people become eligible for a second COVID-19 vaccine dose, residents are encouraged to keep their options open.
Niagara's Regional Vaccine Task Force Chair Doctor David Dec encourages people to look beyond the mass vaccination clinics.
"If the pharmacists have spots and you want to go there, that might even be easier than trying to book an appointment at a mass clinic. Some people have had problems with that. And check with your family doctor if your family doctor has a supply. Different family doctors have different amounts, and that's changing as well because the Moderna that the family physicians and the primary care people are getting - it's variable. I think this past week they got less than they anticipated."
He does caution that supply, particularly at doctor's offices, can be extremely limited.
Dec also notes while people are eager to get second doses, some people still haven't had the initial shot.
"We still need to get 30 percent of those first dose people, trying to encourage them to get it. So I think that's going to be a big job of the task force over the summer and into the fall when we sort of get to that situation where most of the appointments being booked are second dose and not first dose."
Starting today people 70 and older and people who received their first dose on or before April 18th can book a second shot at a mass vaccination clinic through the provincial booking systems. You can book an appointment in Niagara online through ontario.ca/bookvaccine or call 1-833-943-3900.
Currently, 60 percent of Niagara residents have at least one dose of a vaccine, 6 percent have completed the full two-shot vaccination series.