April 1 COVID-19 update: AstraZeneca coming to Ottawa, Valley pharmacies, Provincial ICUs filling up

OTTAWA – The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will be available at 39 pharmacies across Ottawa and the Valley starting as early as Saturday (April 3).

The Ontario government plans to deliver AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to 39 pharmacies in Ottawa, the Ottawa Valley and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit’s (EOHU) region.

The province announced it’s expanding its pharmacy COVID-19 vaccine program in to 350 locations across Ontario in a statement today (April 1).

All these locations are expected to offer the AstraZeneca vaccine to residents aged 55 and over, with some locations offering the vaccine as early as Saturday, April 3.  

Earlier this month, Ontario began offering the vaccine to individuals aged 60 and over at pharmacies and primary care settings. With Thursday’s expansion bringing the total number of pharmacies offering the vaccine to nearly 700 locations, it is expected that this number could reach approximately 1,500 by the end of April.

Participating pharmacies within the EOHU region include:

Stittsville

• Stittsville Whole Health Pharm – c-1609 Stittsville Main St., Ottawa

Kanata

• Costco Pharmacy – 770 Silver Seven Rd., Kanata
• Shoppers Drug Mart – 10-499 Terry Fox Dr., Kanata
• Kanata Pharmasave – 101 – 99 Kakulu Rd., Kanata
• Shoppers Drug Mart – 680 Eagleson Rd., Kanata
• Walmart Pharmacy – 5357 Fernbank Rd., Kanata
• Sobeys Pharmacy – 700 Terry Fox Dr., Kanata
• Sobeys Pharmacy – 840 March Rd., Kanata

Nepean

• Costco Pharmacy – 4315 Strandherd Dr., Nepean
• Shoppers Drug Mart – 3781 Strandherd Dr., Nepean
• Loblaw Pharmacy – 1980 Baseline Rd., Nepean
• Centrepointe Guardian Drugs – 117 Centrepointe Dr., Nepean
• Loblaw Pharmacy – 200 Grant Carman Dr., Nepean
• The Drug Store Pharmacy – 59a Robertson Rd., Nepean

Manotick

• Paul’s Pharmasave – 990 River Rd., Manotick

Ottawa

• The Drug Store Pharmacy – 3201 Greenbank Rd., Ottawa
• Loblaw Pharmacy – 4270 Innes Rd., Ottawa
• Rexall – 2525 Carling Ave., Ottawa
• Shoppers Drug Mart – 410 Richmond Rd., Ottawa
• Rexall – c-1725 Walkley Rd., Ottawa
• Shoppers Drug Mart – 322 Rideau St., Ottawa
• Pharmasave Cyril Pharmacy – 1795 Kilborn Ave., Ottawa
• The Drugstore Pharmacy – 2681 Alta Vista Dr., Ottawa
• Apothe SOS Pharmacy – 8-314 Central Park Dr., Ottawa

Gloucester

• Costco Pharmacy – 1405 Blair Towers Pl., Gloucester
• The Drug Store Pharmacy – 1619 Orleans Blvd., Gloucester
• Walmart Pharmacy – 171-1980 Ogilvie Rd., Gloucester
• Good Health Pharmacy – 2-4188 Spratt Rd., Gloucester

Orléans

• Shoppers Drug Mart – 1937 Portobello Blvd., Orléans
• Rexall – 1615 Orleans Blvd., Orléans
• Crown Pointe Pharmacy – 13-900 Watters Rd., Orléans
• Sobeys Pharmacy – 5150 Innes Rd., Orléans
• Innes IDA Pharmacy – 101-4473 Innes Rd., Orléans

Osgoode

• Osgoode Pharmacy – 3192 Logan Farm Dr., Osgoode 

Eastern Ontario Health Unit region

• Pharmacie Jean Coutu – 80 Main St. E., Hawkesbury
• Seaway Valley Pharmacy – 507 Main St., Winchester
• Embrun Remedy’s RX – 753 Notre Dame St., Embrun

Renfrew County and district

• Rexall – 22 Baskin Drive East, Arnprior
• Walmart Pharmacy – 980 O’Brien Rd. RR 1, Renfrew
• Walmart Pharmacy – 1108 Pembroke St E., Pembroke

ICU admissions reach highest numbers since pandemic start

ONTARIO – Admissions to intensive care units (ICU) across Ontario continued to climb today (April 1), as the province hit a record high since the start of the pandemic.

A daily report by Critical Care Services Ontario, which tracks hospitalizations, states 430 people are currently in the ICU with a COVID-19-related critical illness, up from 421 the Wednesday.

“This is the new highest number of COVID patients in critical care in this pandemic,” Anthony Dale, the president of the Ontario Hospital Association, released in a statement.

In a letter to the Ford government, 153 ICU physicians said the province is at a “critical point in the pandemic” and new public health measures need to be implemented immediately.

The physicians noted that variants of concern have been quickly spreading across Ontario, which has impacted ICU capacity.

“About four in 10 patients who come to the ICU with COVID will die,” the letter reads. “We are seeing younger patients on ventilators—many are parents of school-aged children.”

Earlier this week, the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table said in its report ICUs have been facing a capacity crunch.

The report noted that 46 per cent of ICU admissions between March 15 and March 21 were people aged 59 and younger.