Brampton vaccination centres sit empty as COVID medication slow to arrive
Published March 29, 2021 at 6:50 pm
Brampton vaccination centres have been largely sitting empty as the city continues to receive limited supplies of the medication meant to battle COVID-19.
Several sources have told inbrampton.com that staff at the centres are stuck waiting around as the slow trickle of the vaccine is distributed to the relatively small number of people who are eligible to receive it.
“It’s very sad. We are ready to serve the public but there is nothing here to give,” said a person familiar with the operations at one Brampton vaccination site. “We are easily able to handle those who register (those ages 70 and over), but these places look empty. There is so much more we could be doing to help.”
For the past several weeks, Brampton has been limited to 1,000 to 2,000 vaccines a day which is used up quickly by those who have preregistered.
Although there has been congestion at some sites on occasion, another source says this has been due to people showing up without appointments and others arriving far earlier than the time they have booked. “If we don’t know they are coming or they come when they are not supposed to, then that can be a problem and cause delays.”
As well, the much anticipated pharmacy program has yet to materialize as the promised doses have not been delivered to Brampton and the rest of Peel Region. Some pharmacies have said they have told customers not to bother making an appointment because they don’t know when they will be able to vaccinate.
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On Friday, Mayor Patrick Brown told Khaled Iwamura of inbrampton.com that Peel Region is capable of serving of 70,000 people a day…a far cry from what is actually happening.
“Let me put it into context for you,” said the mayor. “We are getting a few thousand vaccines a day. And people might say ‘Mississauga gets two thousand, and Brampton gets two thousand today, that’s pretty good.’ No it’s not! There is no reason to celebrate. We have the capacity to do 70,000 vaccines a day in Peel Region if we had the supply. But we don’t have the supply.”
Brown pointed out Canada is currently ranked 54th in the world in terms of vaccination rate, a sobering statistic considering the need in places such as Brampton.
Meanwhile, Peel Region is still accepting registrations for the COVID-19 vaccinations for those ages 70 and over. The region says it is able to handle the requests for this cohort based on the number who register daily.
You can book online or by calling 905-791-5202.
(Region of Peel photo)
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