Devonshire Mall clinic saw boost in uptake after vaccine passport announcement

More people are rolling up their sleeves to get a COVID-19 vaccine after the announcement of a provincial certificate program.

Windsor Regional Hospital, which runs the mass vaccination clinic at Devonshire Mall, said in a tweet that on Thursday, there was a 50 per cent increase in people getting vaccinated that day, and the number of people getting their first dose was almost 200 per cent higher than usual.

During the Windsor Essex County Health Unit's weekly epidemiological summary on Friday, the medical officer of health, Dr. Wajid Ahmed, confirmed an increase in vaccinations since the announcement was made earlier this week.

"We are starting to see the uptick of new first doses since the announcement has been made," Ahmed said.

"On an average we were seeing close to four hundred people and right now we are seeing close to six, seven hundred people a day at our vaccination clinic."

Ahmed said it is early data, but he does expect the number to increase.

The renewed interest is happening elsewhere as well. A day after the provincial government announced the rules for its vaccine certificate policy, the number of appointments for vaccines was way up, according to Health Minister Christine Elliott.

She said bookings on the provincial system were more than double.

By Sept. 22, a long list of non-essential activities will require you to be fully vaccinated, including eating inside a restaurant, going to a movie or the heading to the gym.

No appointments are necessary at the Devonshire Mall clinic, which is open from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

So far, 72.4 per cent of eligible Windsor-Essex residents have had both COVID-19 shots, compared with 77 per cent across the province, local and provincial data show.

The City of Windsor and Essex County have come up with a lottery in hopes of boosting the local vaccination rate. Registration for WEVaxToWin opened on Wednesday.