LONDON, ONT. – Grocer Ryan Gosso, 25, has become the first person to be vaccinated at the latest mass vaccination site in London.
The Earl Nichols Recreation Center site on Homeview Road, south London, has been redesigned to minimize its footprint.
“We’ve also learned from our previous sites that registration can be a bottleneck and cause delays in the process,” says Emily Williams, interim CEO of the Middlesex-London Health Unit.
To improve the process, Williams said they consulted with the Southwest Public Health Unit about what works there.
“We visited their St. Thomas site and applied these insights to move the operating model here. So what you’re going to see in there is a centralized hub model where our vaccinators will take care of the customer.”
Now nurses will go around with carts administering vaccines to waiting patients, who will then remain in their capsule for 15 minutes to see if there are any side effects.
This different approach will ultimately result in the facility being able to ship between 1,500 and 2,000 vaccines per day.
“And it will ultimately increase our ability to get more clients through the vaccine center, which is ultimately everyone’s goal,” Williams says.
The site will officially begin taping on May 25, and according to Ward 12 Councilwoman Elizabeth Peloza, this is particularly important for this area of the city.
“A place they can walk or bike to, it’s on LTC Routes 10 and 93, it’s a place they’re familiar with. It’s a meeting place and if you’re safe and familiar with the place, you’re more likely to come out and get vaccinated.”
For London Mayor Ed Holder, the website is another sign that the pandemic is almost over.
“Honestly at one point I wasn’t sure if there was a tunnel at the end of which you could see the light, now we can see that light.”
Appointments are already booked for the Nichols location. All adults over the age of 18 are currently eligible to participate, appointments for young people over the age of 12 can be made from May 23rd. Appointments can be booked here.
