The Middlesex-London Health Unit says all available COVID-19 vaccine appointments for seniors aged 80 and older have been booked up for the next two weeks.
As well, because of “uncertainty in vaccine supply,” the health unit is only booking appointments two weeks out, meaning that the elderly can try again to book an appointment starting 8 a.m. Wednesday for March 17, starting at 8 a.m. Thursday for March 18, and so on.
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MLHU expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility, announces appointment-booking
“The demand for vaccination appointments this morning has been tremendous. In less than two hours, more than 5,000 people were able to pick a time when they could get a first dose,” medical officer of health Dr. Chris Mackie said in a statement on Tuesday.
“I apologize to everyone who called in and was not able to get through.”
According to the health unit, more than 5,000 appointments for seniors aged 80 and older were booked for between March 6 and 16 within two hours of online and telephone booking being made available.
The online system saw nearly 30,000 hits and had “no significant outages” but the phone system saw over 200,000 phone calls and experienced outage issues. Both appointment booking options are now closed and set to reopen at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Appointments can be booked via www.covidvaccinelm.ca or by calling 226-289-3560.
More information to come.