Hamilton administers daily record of over 10,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses

HAMILTON, ON – Yesterday, Hamilton was able to administer 10,153 COVID-19 vaccine doses to residents across the community, a new single-day record.

The milestone was made possible through the collective efforts and teamwork of City of Hamilton staff, Hamilton Public Health Services, Hamilton Health Sciences, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton Paramedic Services, primary care partners, local pharmacies, community partners and supporting community organizations.

To assist in the effort, the City of Hamilton has redeployed 164 staff to help scale up local COVID-19 vaccine capacity, and to continue to keep essential City services operating in the face of surging COVID-19 infections.

With approximately 73 City employees currently away from work due to illness or isolation/quarantine periods, the City is doing everything it can to both provide non-clinical staff to support vaccination clinics and protect the delivery of services that the community relies on each day. The City is also working quickly to hire additional staff to do data entry and health screening at the clinics and other municipal settings to help the community meets its vaccination goals in the face of rising infections. As well, we are planning for the redeployment of additional staff as required.

Hamilton healthcare partners and organizations from across the community continue to work around the clock to plan for the continued expansion of local COVID-19 vaccine capacity and to ensure as many Hamiltonians as possible, as quickly as possible, are able to receive the strong protection of getting fully vaccinated. Receiving a third dose of vaccine provides additional protection against COVID-19 and the highly-transmissible Omicron variant. Physicians, nurses, pharmacists and non-clinical staff alike are bringing the best of our community to light and stepping up in these efforts to expand Hamilton’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign against what is an extremely strained healthcare system and a shortage of health care human resources.

The City of Hamilton appreciates newly eligible community members are eager to book third dose appointments. The limited availability of health care human resources to vaccinate community members continues to be a challenge in the face of the most significant increase in eligibility we have seen to date during the COVID-19 vaccination campaign—there are 320,000 newly eligible Hamiltonians.

The surge of significant demand for COVID-19 vaccine appointments is consistent across the vast majority of the province. Partners across Hamilton’s health care system have mobilized and are increasing our daily capacity to vaccinate from 2,400 per day the week of Dec 6, to up to the more than 10,000 vaccine doses per day yesterday and an estimated 240,000 doses per month, if the required health care human resources/health care providers can continue to be secured. With the expanded capacity, it is expected to take until the end of January to provide third doses to all those eligible.

As experienced with expanded eligibility to large populations in the past and what has been experienced again with the expansion to those aged 18+ on Monday, there is a significant demand and large volume of individuals booking a limited number of appointments.

While Hamilton Public Health Services appreciates the frustration this may cause, we ask that community members remain patient and be assured there will be increased capacity and availability of appointments in time, that new appointments are added daily, as staff and COVID-19 vaccine resources are confirmed, in keeping with our goal to ensure that no appointments will need to be cancelled. Community members should continue to check back for appointments. Third/booster dose appointments must be booked in advance through www.hamilton.ca/GetYourVaccine, while first and second doses remain available through walk-ins at many clinics in Hamilton. Residents are also encouraged to check with local pharmacies who are offering third doses. 

Quick Facts

• The previous single-day record was set on July 5, 2021 with 9,877 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in one day.
• To date, 979,928 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered – with 83.9 per cent of eligible Hamiltonians receiving a vaccine to date and 79 per cent fully vaccinated.
• All city of Hamilton vaccination clinics will be closed on December 25, 2021 and January 1, 2022. This two-day closure over the holidays will allow physicians, nurses, pharmacists and non-clinical staff to have a well-deserved break to spend time with their families and loved ones.
• Hamilton Public Health Services remains committed to the Last Mile Strategy with the priority being administering both first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and ensuring neighbourhoods with lower coverage rates have access to information tailored to their needs and vaccine that is accessible at convenient locations and times.
• Hamilton Public Health Services continues to focus on administering first and second doses to all eligible individuals ages 5+ as well as third and third doses of vaccine to eligible populations.
• Children ages five to 11 years of age and individuals who are eligible for third doses are required to book an appointment for their vaccination.
• Appointments can be booked by visiting www.hamilton.ca/GetYourVaccine. 
• Vaccine administration rates may differ based on local context. All vaccination planning is based on and contingent on available COVID-19 vaccine supply and the necessary health and human resources.
• It is vital that members of the public, even those who have been vaccinated, ensure that public health measures still be practiced until it is safe and said to be safe by the health professionals in all levels of government.

“We’ve been witness to the best of what Hamiltonians have to offer their neighbours and community members across the city during these enormously challenging times. The efforts to urgently scale up COVID-19 vaccine capacity in Hamilton is another example of our community’s commitment to our collective health and well-being. We should all be truly inspired by the efforts of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and non-clinical staff alike to expand Hamilton’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign to record levels in the face of the surging COVID-19 cases brought on by the highly-transmissible Omicron variant and an extremely strained healthcare system.”

- Mayor Fred Eisenberger

“The Omicron variant of concern is a significant threat to our community’s control of COVID-19 spread, especially as we head into the holiday season and related festivities. Yesterday’s daily record number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered is welcome news in our efforts to protect community members from this highly-transmissible variant with a strained healthcare system and health care human resources. We recognize the uphill battle in front of Hamilton healthcare partners in vaccinating the over 300,000 newly eligible community members in the weeks ahead and we will continue to focus on securing the required health care human resources/health care providers to meet the significant demand. The best way community members can prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant of concern is to get fully vaccinated, and when eligible, get a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, keep their guards up by following the well-established public health measures including wearing a tight-fitting mask properly, maintaining physical distance, limiting their contacts and size of social gatherings, and staying home when they’re unwell.”

- Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Medical Officer of Health

Additional Resources

• www.hamilton.ca/COVIDvaccines
• www.hamilton.ca/coronavirus
• https://covid-19.ontario.ca
• https://kidshealthfirst.ca/
• Public Health Services’ COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline: 905-974-9848, option 7 or [email protected]
• Public Health Services’ COVID-19 Hotline: 905-974-9848 or [email protected]