Heather Wright/The Independent

It seems the younger people in Lambton County are ready to get past the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 4,500 people signed up for a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday – the day the province opened up eligibility to anyone who was qualified to get one.

In Lambton, for example, only people over 50 could book a vaccine on Monday, by Tuesday, that opened to everyone over 12.

The province had expected to allow all comers to get the vaccine on May 31. But officials say 2.2 million doses are scheduled to arrive this week in advance of the long weekend.

That led to the government extending the eligibility. The province is also allowing public health unit to hold pop-up clinics for 12 to 17 year olds using the Pfizer vaccine if they wish. Lambton Public Health is encouraging families to register together to get the first doze at the Point Edward Clinic.

Kelly Francis of Lambton Public Health says residents heeded the call with 4,500 people booking appointments online Tuesday and another 477 calling in to the dedicated phone line to get the shot.

As of May 16, 2021, at 8:00 p.m., over 7.2 million vaccine doses have been administered across the province, with over 93 per cent of Ontario residents aged 80 and over and more than 92 per cent of residents aged 75 to 79 having received at least one dose.
More than 55 per cent of the population aged 18 and over have received at least one dose and more than 432,000 Ontarians are fully immunized, including 96 per cent of long-term care residents.

In May, Ontario expects to receive approximately 4.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Approximately 4.7 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine are expected in June.
To book a vaccine in Lambton go to lambtonpublichealth.ca