Here’s a summary of the Ottawa COVID-19 situation as of the morning – Monday, December 20, 2021.
Update: Ottawa Public Health is urging all residents who have any COVID-19 symptoms to assume they have contracted the virus and self-isolate, regardless of their vaccination status or rapid antigen test result. Symptomatic individuals must self-isolate even if they test negative on a rapid antigen test as these tests can produce false negative results.
Vaccines – Booster shots
As of today at 8am, all individuals aged 18 and over (born in 2003 or earlier) can book a third dose (booster) appointment. Individuals can receive a booster 84 days (approximately three months) after their second dose. Click here to book an appointment…
To date, over 121,000 third doses have been administered to Ottawa residents. On Monday, 634,000 people in Ottawa 18 years and older will be eligible for a third dose. OPH and the City of Ottawa are asking residents for their patience and understanding as they work as fast as possible to meet the demand. The reality is that on Monday for the newly eligible 18+ population, there will likely be no or very few appointments available. Please follow Ottawa Public Health announcements on their web site and on social media for the latest information on available appointments. More appointments will continue to be added throughout the week.
You should also check with your local pharmacy or family doctor about vaccine availability.
Vaccines – Kids 5-11
Appointments are being reserved at community clinics for kids ages 5-11 to receive a first dose of the vaccine. Click here to book an appointment…
After school clinics continue this week to anyone born in 2016 or earlier who lives in a neighbourhood near the school and does not need to be students at that school. Parent or guardian consent is required for children ages five to 11. Drop-in appointments are available on a first come first served basis during clinic hours. For after-school clinic locations and hours please visit: OttawaPublicHealth.ca/AfterSchoolClinics.
Other vaccination clinic options for five- to 11-year-olds:
- One of Ottawa Public Health’s seven community clinics
- Pharmacies – over 100 locations across the city are starting to offer vaccines to this age group. Find the nearest participating pharmacy for appointment hours and locations
- Primary care – primary care physicians will be reaching out directly to their patients if they are offering COVID-19 pediatric vaccines in their offices
- CHEO – the hospital offers vaccinations to children with medically complex needs
- First Nations, Inuit and Métis community members – Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health will host a clinic at the Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre in partnership with Ottawa Public Health
- Inuit community members – Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team is providing vaccinations for Inuit youth; call 613-740-0999 for more information or to book an appointment
- Mobile teams – Ottawa Public Health is working with operators of congregate care facilities to administer vaccines on site
- Neighbourhood vaccination hubs – Ottawa Public Health operates 10 neighbourhood vaccination hubs across the city
Testing – PCR testing
Find your nearest COVID-19 Testing and Care Centre at OttawaPublicHealth.ca. Many of these locations test children and most of them need you to make an appointment for testing. Please only book one appointment at a single site and cancel your appointment if you plan on no longer attending.
Demand for PCR testing is currently very high, and you should expect delays in being able to book an appointment and receive test results. Most testing in Ottawa is managed and operated by local hospital who operate special clinics across the city. You can see more information about the status of testing in Ottawa and special testing locations at https://www.ottawatestingupdate.ca/.
To provide more testing options to residents in the west-end of the city, the Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce has partnered with Kemptville District Hospital to open a temporary assessment centre in Stittsville. It will be open Monday and Tuesday evenings until at least the end of January. Please note – appointment slots for the temporary assessment centre at the Fringewood location in Stittsville are released on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 8:00 a.m. More info here…
Testing- Rapid Antigen Tests
The Province of Ontario is distributing rapid antigen screening tests during the holiday season at several public locations. The list of confirmed locations is published n the Provincial website: https://www.ontario.ca/page/pop-up-holiday-schedule-rapid-antigen-tests. New locations are added on a rolling basis as sites are confirmed and then removed from the list once locations run out of tests.
Rapid Antigen Screening Test does not replace PCR testing when there is a greater risk of COVID-19 infection, such as for people with symptoms or who are high risk contacts. If a positive result is received on rapid antigen screening testing, follow up PCR testing is required to confirm the result as some positive results are “false positives”.
Please note that, aside from recommending locations and requesting the earliest possible distribution dates, Ottawa Public Health is not directly involved with the allocation or distribution of these screening tests nor do we have our own supply of tests.
Other points of access for rapid antigen screening test kits:
Schools: A Rapid Antigen Testing program is being rolled out and overseen by the Ontario Ministry of Education during the holidays in direct partnership with the school boards. These test kits are being distributed to school-aged children through the schools and are intended to be used multiple times over the course of the school holidays to screen for COVID-19.
Workplaces: Rapid antigen test kits are available to individuals who are part of a workplace or organization that is participating in the Provincial Antigen Screening Program or private testing. Lastly, the Ottawa Board of Trade (OBoT), in partnership with Invest Ottawa and Bayview Yards, have launched the COVID-19 Rapid Screening Initiative. Through this initiative, OBoT is distributing Rapid Antigen Screening Kits to Ottawa businesses with less than 150 employees. You can learn more about this program here.
LCBO: On Friday, December 17th, rapid test kits were distributed through select LCBO locations across Ontario, including 7 in Ottawa. All of those test kits have now been distributed. The LCBO advised that they would post to their Twitter feed (@LCBO) if they receive more.
Rapid Antigen Screening Test- Instructions and Videos:
- How to test yourself with BTNX Rapid ResponseTM COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test At Home document for step-by-step instructions.
- For other resources by Rapid Antigen Test types/brands, please visit ontariohealth.ca;
- Ontario Health Video: How to use COVID-19 antigen test at home;
- Government of Ontario: Rapid antigen testing for asymptomatic students (available in multiple languages)