Eastern Health tells those 70-plus to book vaccination directly

If you're over 70 in eastern Newfoundland, you no longer need to preregister or wait to be contacted to book an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Eastern Health announced Monday that any of the province’s septuagenarians within the region are invited to book their appointments for a first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

The invite is open to all people who turn 70 years of age by Dec. 31, 2021 — regardless of whether or not they have pre-registered.

Until now, authorities had asked those who preregistered to be patient and they would be contacted for an appointment as soon as possible.

Last week, Health Minister Dr. John Haggie said Eastern Health has run into some snags in its vaccination strategy, one being that hundreds of people who had preregistered weren’t answering their phones when they were called to arrange a booking.

As well, there were several anecdotal reports of email notices ending up in junk email folders.

NEW INSTRUCTIONS

To book an appointment at one of the available clinics:

Go online to the appointment booking site (using Google Chrome if possible).

Complete the eligibility questionnaire and consent.

Follow the online instructions and when prompted, enter this authorization code: ECOV-KYZTQ-21

Anyone experiencing difficultly booking their appointment can access an online how-to video, or phone 1-833-951-3884 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

The public is reminded not to schedule an appointment for a vaccination if they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. Instead, complete an online COVID-19 assessment and referral.

For more information on COVID-19 vaccines, visit Health Canada. For up-todate information on the COVID-19 pandemic, visit the provincial government's COVID-19 portal.

The province has promised everyone over 70 will be either booked for an appointment or have received at least one shot by April 23.