Changes begin next week at the COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic at Devonshire Mall.
The site will continue to offer the COVID-19 vaccine but will also temporarily shift to a catch up vaccination clinic for other types of vaccinations under the Immunization of School Pupils Act.
Acting medical officer of health, Dr. Shanker Nesathurai says there is a lot of catching up to do.
He says one of the unrecognized consequences of the pandemic has been young people falling behind on their vaccination schedule.
"Many of the vaccines that we give an adolescent benefit into adulthood and so what we're trying to do with this expanded availability is to try and get young people caught up on their vaccines and be up to date as they begin adulthood or start to enter into adulthood," says Dr. Nesathurai.
Health unit CEO Nicole Dupuis says vaccines will be offered at the mass vaccination site as long as it's open.
"This is something that we will continue to push forward on through the summer, through various channels," says Dupuis. "We have some plans to do mobile clinics as well related to this as we have in the past."
Dupuis says individuals going to the mass vaccination clinic for a vaccine other than COVID will need to make an appointment.
"For all of those other vaccines that will be delivered through the mass vaccination site, there is an appointment booking process for that and you can go to our website to book those appointments," says Dupuis.
The Devonshire Mall mass vaccination clinic is open Friday until 3:30 p.m.
It will then shut down until next Tuesday, reopening at 11:30 a.m.
The updated hours for the Devonshire Mall vaccination centre will be Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. and Wednesdays to Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.