COVID-19 vaccination clinic at The Boardwalk in Waterloo to close next month

The COVID-19 vaccinationclinic at The Boardwalk in Waterloo will close on June 12. It's the last mass vaccination clinic in the region.

David Aoki, director of infectious disease, sexual health and harm reduction for Waterloo Region, told regional councillorson Wednesday night that the lease for the space the clinic uses is due to expireat the end of June and won't be renewed.

"Over the last few months, demand for vaccine has waned," he said.

People can get the vaccine through their doctor's office or pharmacists, "meaning we no longer require large, mass immunization sites to meet the needs of our residents," Aoki said.

The Boardwalk has provided more than 240,000 doses of the vaccine over 16 months.

Aoki saidthe clinic's closure is in line with the region's plan to offer mobile and accessible options for people to get their doses of the vaccine. That includes holding pop-up clinics at libraries, long-term care and retirement homes and with community partners.

As well, smaller clinics will continue to operate at99 Regina St.in Waterloo and 30 Christopher Dr.in Cambridge.

Presence of COVID-19 still 'relatively high'

During a COVID-19 update on Wednesday night, the region's medical officer of health, Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, said wastewater testing shows that the most recent wave of the pandemic "continues to recede," although the presence of the virus in the region remains "relatively high."

There have been fewer outbreaks in high-risk settings and hospitalizations from COVID-19 in recent weeks, she said.

"Barring the emergence of variants that could change the trajectory of the current wave, we can expect the key indicators to continue to trend downwards in the coming weeks," Wang said.

The region recently changed how often it reports COVID-19 data on its dashboard. Updates now take place on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The most recent update on Tuesday showed there were 39 people in hospital with COVID-19, and eight people were in the intensive care unit either with, or recovering from, the virus.

A total of 417 deaths have been linked to COVID-19 in the region.

There were also 12 outbreaks in high-risk settings:

• Eight in long-term care and retirement homes.
• Three in congregate settings.
• One at Grand River Hospital in Kitchener.