Province asking for patience as thousands try to use COVID19 vaccine booking system
By Shelby Knox
People in Ontario are being asked for their patience once again as the provincial COVID-19 vaccine booking portal faced a surge of people trying to book an appointment.
Yesterday the province expanded eligibility in hot spot communities to include anyone 18 years old and older, including in the L2G postal code in Niagara Falls.
More than 130,000 people were able to successfully book an appointment for a shot, but not without some headaches.
Some users reported glitches and issues with the website and long wait times with the phone hotline.
Locally, Niagara Region Public Health has acknowledged the frustration in the past, but explained they only schedule clinic dates when they have received a shipment of doses to avoid disappointment and the potential of rescheduling appointments if vaccines do not arrive on time.
Public Health has added more clinic dates through this month in Fort Erie, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Pelham, West Lincoln, and Niagara Falls.
Additional dates for Port Colborne will be added soon as well.
The latest frustration with available appointment slots comes as the province is expected to expand vaccine eligibility outside of the hot spots on Thursday to include people 50 years old and older.
New clinic days in Niagara include:
- May 9-10 - Fort Erie, Leisureplex
- May 15-16 - Niagara-on-the-Lake, Community Centre
- May 16-22 - Pelham, Meridian Community Centre
- May 24, 25 & 28 - West Lincoln, West Lincoln Community Centre
- May 29 - Niagara Falls, MacBain Community Centre
Clinic dates for Port Colborne at the Vale Health and Wellness Centre on May 23, 26 and 27 will be added to the portal soon as well.