KITCHENER -- Pharmacies in Waterloo Region are now booking appointments to administer COVID-19 vaccines.

The province released an expanded list of pharmacies offering the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday. The age eligibility to 55.

Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang said the province asked for input on which pharmacies to include in the next stage of rollout.

"We did have input into the selection of pharmacies," Dr. Wang said at the region's COVID-19 briefing on Thursday morning. "One of the things we wanted to provide as input was a good distribution of the locations such that there was good coverage of our region and, in particular, areas where we see higher rates of COVID-19."

Dr. Wang said there appeared to be good coverage in the distribution of the pharmacies in Waterloo Region.

"We've been getting calls from customers for months, but since this announcement our phones have been ringing off the hook," said Bryan Langel, a pharmacist at Shoppers Drug Mart on Dundas Street in Cambridge.

Langel said his team has been training with a new online booking system and he's hiring.

"We've brought on some registered techs, we've brought in extra pharmacists and assistants all help with that," he said.

Langel said his location was chosen based on COVID-19 cases in the area.

"The pharmacies that are listed are in neighbourhoods that tend to be a bit more impacted by COVID, so it's an effort to get vaccines out into the neighbourhoods that probably need it the most," said Dr. Kelly Grindrod, a vaccine specialist with the University of Waterloo and member of the region's vaccine task force. "Now the onus is on the pharmacies to get people in, to get vaccines in arms."

Langel said he has the fridges and needles necessary for AstraZeneca vaccines, since they've been offering flu shots for years using the same supplies.

"Very excited to be given the opportunity to do this and be a part of change and part of the solution," he said.

Langel hopes to have doses at his pharmacy in the next few days.

These locations will offer vaccines.

Kitchener:

  • Cook's Pharmacy, 1450 Block Line Road Unit 201
  • Fairway Lackner, Pharmacy 900 Fairway Crescent Unit 5
  • Food Basics Pharmacy, 1405 Ottawa St. North
  • Frederick Mall Pharmacy, 385 Frederick St Unit 15
  • Rexall, 324 Highland Road West
  • Rexall, 1405 Ottawa St. North Unit 16
  • Shoppers Drug Mart, 123 Pioneer Drive
  • Sobeys Pharmacy, 1187 Fischer Hallman Road
  • Wal-Mart Pharmacy, 2960 Kingsway Drive
  • Williamsburg Pharmacy, 1187 Fischer Hallman Road Unit 440

Waterloo:

  • Alphamed Pharmacy, 460 Albert St.
  • Carriage Crossing Pharmacy, 105 Oak Park Drive Unit 4
  • Loblaw Pharmacy, 450 Erb St. West
  • Sobeys Pharmacy, 450 Columbia St. West
  • Westmount Place Pharmacy, 50 Westmount Road North

Cambridge:

  • Med Health Pharmacy, 614 Coronation Blvd.
  • Shoppers Drug Mart, 115 Dundas St. Unit 1
  • Wal-Mart Pharmacy, 22 Pinebush Road

Guelph:

  • Costco Pharmacy, 19 Elmira Road South
  • Drugstore Pharmacy, 1045 Paisley Road
  • Drugstore Pharmacy, 160 Kortright Road West
  • Rexall, 666 Woolwich St. Unit 140

A full list of pharmacy locations across Ontario, along with hours and contact information, can be found here.