by: elizabeth payne
an ottawa doctor who had registered more than 700 people for a planned mass covid-19 booster vaccine clinic monday abruptly cancelled the event friday and encouraged people who want a fourth dose but aren’t eligible to contact their mpps.
dr. nili kaplan-myrth said she had hoped to vaccinate health workers, social workers, front-line workers, grocery store clerks, parents and others who want a fourth dose of covid-19 vaccine but don’t qualify under current ontario guidelines. on friday she learned she would not have access to vaccine doses to do so.
“we had it ready to go and the only thing stopping us is a lack of political will,” she said. “there is really no rationale. it is not dangerous to give it to anyone 18 or over and we have the vaccines. if it saved one person it would be worth it.”
currently in ontario only people over 60, indigenous people and their family members, and vulnerable populations, including those living in long-term care and retirement homes, are eligible to receive a fourth dose, or second booster shot, of a covid-19 vaccine. in quebec and in the u.s., it is available to people 18 and older.
university of ottawa epidemiologist raywat deonandan is among those questioning why the province limits access to fourth doses. in a tweet friday, he said the decision to do so is “largely arbitrary.”