The new COVID-19 booster has arrived in London as respiratory virus season kicks off in the region.
The new COVID-19 booster has arrived in London as respiratory virus season kicks off in the region. The Middlesex-London Health Unit already has logged its first lab-confirmed case of influenza A of the 2023-24 flu season, as the push to encourage COVID-19 boosters and flu shots ramps up. Here’s what you need to know.
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The Middlesex-London Health Unit will begin administering the Moderna Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant COVID-19 vaccine to eligible folks at its Western Fair vaccination clinic on Friday.
The shots, which are by appointment only, are only for people at high risk of hospitalization or serious complications from respiratory illnesses, such as COVID-19. These include seniors, long-term care residents and health care workers.
The XBB.1.5 booster is expected to be effective against the COVID-19 variants currently circulating in the province.
For now, the new Omicron XBB.1.5 booster is only for . . .
- People 65 and older
- Children six months to four years old
- Health care workers and first responders
- Residents and staff at long-term care and retirement homes
- Pregnant women
- First Nation, Inuit or Métis individuals and their household members
- People six months old and older with underlying health conditions, as defined by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization
- People from racialized and other “equity deserving communities”
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Appointments for the Western Fair District vaccination clinic can be booked online at www.covidvaccinelm.ca or over the phone by calling 226-289-3560, Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm, excluding Thanksgiving Monday.
The clinic, located near the Gateway Casino, is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 am to 6 pm
Eligible people also can get the new booster at many family doctors’ offices or participating pharmacies.
In Elgin and Oxford counties, the latest booster will be available at Southwestern Public Health clinics starting next Wednesday, the health unit there announced Thursday afternoon.
People eligible for the shot can book an appointment at 410 Buller St. in Woodstock or 1230 Talbot St. in St. Thomas by calling 1-833-943-3900 or booking online at www.ontario.ca/book-vaccine.
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The flu shot has arrived in Ontario and will first be made available to people at high risk of severe complications from respiratory illnesses, health care workers and first responders.
The public will be able to find a flu shot through their family doctor or local pharmacy.
The flu shot and COVID-19 booster can be administered at the same time, the Middlesex-London Health Unit said, or any time before or after each other.
“Based on what we have seen in the southern hemisphere and what we are beginning to see locally, we are expecting this respiratory season to be more severe than ones prior to COVID-19,” associate medical officer of health Joanne Kearon, of the Middlesex -London Health Unit, said in a statement Thursday.
“As we begin to see this increased activity of respiratory viruses, we ask you to consider your risk and recommend the following tools to ensure you are protected through the respiratory season: getting your fall vaccines (COVID-19 and influenza), masking in public indoor environments, washing your hands often, and staying home if you are unhappy.”
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