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8 Friday, March 26, 2021 brooklintowncrier.com Durham Region Vaccine Update Whitby Regional Councillor Rhonda Mulcahy Yes, vaccinations could be going faster. But I'm hearing that overall our clinics are running smoothly and, as long as we have vaccines to administer, we're opening up appointments for those who have logged in to book. The problem lies with those who cannot or don't know how to do it. In the BTC's last edition, Councillor Elizabeth Roy and I placed an ad offering help to those 80+ to book their vaccines. The response was as expected. Many seniors don't have computers, email addresses nor even smart phones. So they were in the unfortunate position of sitting on hold on the phone trying to get through to book an appointment. They were - and are - calling looking for help. If you know a senior in this situation, reach out to see if you can help them book online. We need to keep this moving at a good pace and not leave anyone behind. Many of these folks have been locked up for a year and are losing precious time in their twilight years. Call library For those without internet access, the Whitby Library will help seniors book their appointments. To get help, call the Library Reference Dept at 905-668-6531 x2020. You will need an email address of a friend, relative or neighbour to confirm your appointment. Or, as many have done, Councillor Roy or myself will help you either walk through the website over the phone or find someone to book this for you. Just reach out to either of us. Our ad is again on the paper's front page for this very reason. Indeed, having to book online is a flawed approach for the age demographic. Tech is not something many are comfortable with. Even those with the internet are struggling and reaching out trying to book their vaccinations. More appointments are opening all the time. We are here to help you if we can. Use Durham site I suspect that, as we get to the younger age groups, this will become less of an issue. The Durham site - www.durhamvaccinebooking.ca - is user friendly and so far has handled the influx without crashing, as far as I know. We are just limited on vaccines and so aren't booking far in advance unless we have them. We're still in Phase 1 of the provincial framework. We are however booking the age group of 75+, which was supposed to be in Phase 2. The underlying health condition priority group category is also in Phase 2 but has yet to be announced through the province. We also have several vaccination sites. The Durham site books clinics in Brock, Ajax, Clarington, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby. The Oshawa vaccine clinic is run by Lakeridge Health and you can connect to that link through the Durham site which will redirect you. Currently all of these clinics are administering Moderna or Pfizer vaccines to Phase 1 and 75+ priority groups. To add to the confusion: For 60-plus... Areas outside of Durham at participating pharmacies have only AstraZeneca available for those turning 60 in 2021 but you will need to book those through the provincial website. Ontario.ca/book-vaccine. I for one will be grateful when the time comes to roll up my sleeve, but for me that is Phase 3 because, fortunately, I have age and health on my side. I do ask those getting the vaccine to understand that it does not make you invincible. Like the flu shot, you can still contract COVID-19 although your symptoms should not be as devastating. You can, however, give it to someone else who hasn't yet been vaccinated who could become sick. I ask those who have been vaccinated to continue to be careful for the sake of the rest of us until we can all be vaccinated.