UPDATE: The vaccine clinic at Beyond 21 actually was able to distribute over 60 doses of the vaccine, as more clients became available to attend the clinic.
CORNWALL, Ontario – Beyond 21, in partnership with the Seaway Valley Health Centre held a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for their participants on Wednesday, April 21, 2021.
The Hub for Beyond 21 is an organization for adults with developmental disabilities. The organization aims at keeping these adults connected with their community and active after they have left the school system.
Individuals with developmental disabilities are classified as being at high risk for complications from COVID-19 and are included in the province’s Phase 2 of their vaccine distribution plan.
Beyond 21 received 44 doses of the Moderna version of the COVID-19 vaccine, which Beyond 21 Executive Director Alex de Wit said should be enough to vaccinate all of thier participants as well as some individuals who are on their wait list.
The vaccine was distributed at Beyond 21’s facility on Pitt St. in Cornwall with the assistance of staff from the Seaway Valley Health Centre.
de Wit explained why he felt that it was important for Beyond 21’s participants to receive their vaccine.
“I can’t stress enough how isolated some of our participants have felt over the past year,” he said.
de Wit said that the participants of Beyond 21 were typically isolated before the pandemic, but that the pandemic has exacerbated that problem.
Shortly after officially opening their new premises earlier this year, Beyond 21 was forced to transition back to providing their services online only due to the new province wide lockdown and stay-at-home order.
de Wit said that Beyond 21 has still tried to engage as much as they can with their participants, most recently by bringing them the necessary ingredients to make pizza dough, which they did as a group online.
