At least two more pharmacies have been added to the list of venues where area residents can sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Sudbury residents can now apply for a vaccination from the Walmart Pharmacy at 1349 Lasalle Blvd. and at the Rexall Pharmacy at 1975 Bancroft Dr. In both cases residents can go online, enter their postal code and access the pharmacies.
This is in addition to three other local pharmacies that became part of the provincial vaccine rollout plan earlier this month. These include the Shoppers Drug Mart at 2015 Long Lake Lake Rd., the Walden Family Drug Store at 135 Regional Road 24 in Lively and the Rexall Pharmacy at 3080 Highway 69 North in Val Caron.
In each case, under the pharmacy vaccination plan, vaccines are available to Ontario residents aged 40 and over. Note, pharmacy clinics distribute the AstraZeneca vaccine. There is an issue with that specific vaccine where some people in Europe experienced blood clots. Health Canada said it is aware of the concern, but is of the opinion that such side effects are very rare.
A recent statement from the Ontario Government also acknowledged the concern, but concluded that "all COVID-19 vaccines available in Ontario have been shown to prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death."
Also this week, Ontario expanded the availability of AstraZeneca vaccines through the pharmacy rollout program to Ontario citizens aged 40 and older.
"As we continue to fight COVID-19, we are doing everything possible to get as many vaccines into arms as quickly and safely as possible. We continue to be actively engaged with Health Canada on updated AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safety. Last week, based on the review of available data from Europe and the United Kingdom, Health Canada announced that it was not restricting the use of AstraZeneca vaccine in any specific populations at this time," said a statement from the Ontario Ministry of Health.
