WELLINGTON COUNTY – The County of Wellington is redeploying 25 employees for the next three to six months to assist public health with COVID-19 vaccination clinics.
County officials, who announced the move on Jan. 18, say the staff members will assist with data entry of consent forms at various mobile sites and at “the hub site” at the former Groves hospital in Fergus.
“The County of Wellington will continue to support Dr. Mercer and the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH)team in any way possible,” said Warden Kelly Linton.
“Having county staff take on the data entry component of the vaccination clinics will expedite the vaccine roll out. The faster we can get people vaccinated, the faster we can resume a sense of normalcy in our lives.”
Officials explained the provincial government uses a software system called COVAX which requires real-time populating with the information of vaccine recipients.
They say having county staff take on the data entry will “make the vaccination process much more efficient.”
Dr. Nicola Mercer, WDGPH’s Medical Officer of Health, thanked Linton and county councillors and staff for their support for what she called “the largest public health campaign in decades.”
She noted, “The size and scope of the project of providing everyone in our region a COVID-19 vaccine who wishes to have one will require a major collaborative effort.”
County officials say the staff members will remain employees of the county, but will work alongside WDGPG staff.
“Additional county staff may be redeployed if necessary,” notes a press release from the county.
