There may be a path forward for Canadians who want to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Michigan, according to David Musyj.
"Is getting vaccinated in the United States considered an essential medical service, and the answer [from Public Health Canada] is yes," he says.
The President and CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital received a response from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on a request to allow Canadians to cross the border for a COVID-19 vaccine and not have to quarantine upon return.
Musyj says the devil is in the details and they will be posting the response for the community to see.
"There's certain documents that you have to get together in advance of going across the border," he says. "Number two is, it's probably in someone's best interest to book an actual vaccination appointment so when they get to the American side they're able to show that they have an appointment."
According to Musyj, people wanting to cross the border will have to do so in a personal vehicle, not on a Transit Windsor tunnel bus as previously proposed
"The government asks that it's just the one person getting vaccinated and he or she is allowed to bring someone else for support with them. And they made it clear it is to be a direct visit — you don't stop for gas you don't stop for water — you go to get vaccinated and you come directly back home."
When it comes to making sure people aren't making extra stops, Musyj says there is a way to help prove your honesty.
"From my understanding is that you can ask that your passport be stamped and it can have a particular time so you can sequence out the time to indicate that you did go nowhere, you went directly there and turned around and came back," he says.
Musyj admits it is a case by case basis, but adds if you have all the proper documentation, you'll hopefully be able to avoid the 14-day quarantine.
At Monday's city council meeting, Mayor Drew Dilkens received unanimous support for his notice of motion urging the federal and provincial governments to enable Windsor-Essex residents to travel to Detroit to take advantage of numerous offers from U.S. officials to make surplus vaccines available to Canadians without a requirement to quarantine.