APRIL 2021 EDITION
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S T. T H O M A S , O N TA R I O
Message from DDB by Earl Taylor Chair, Downtown Development Board A long time ago, in a land known as Downtown St. Thomas, flowers bloomed, children played and eager shoppers strolled the streets in search of unique goods and services. Then one day, a fire breathing COVID dragon appeared causing mayhem and destruction, and life changed overnight. But the Downtown St. Thomas merchants didn’t flee or give up. They banded together and vowed to fight since they knew they were stronger than the menace that
plagued the countryside. They knew that the community of St. Thomas would rally around them and support them in their battle. And they did, making #StThomasProud their rallying cry, and that cry never ended. It wasn’t an easy fight. Many said it would only take a few weeks to slay the dragon. But the menace was strong and the fight lasted much longer than anyone ever expected. A glimmer of hope appeared a number of times, events and celebrations were planned, then cancelled, yet merchants and the community fought on. Other dragons joined in the battle, forcing the merchants to retreat time and time again.
Merchants developed new fighting techniques offering curbside pickup, online ordering, free delivery and shipping. And every time, the community joined in the battle against these dragons and fought as one, side by side. Then one day, the sun rose and the dragons had disappeared and the community rejoiced. Being bitten once, Downtown merchants continued to keep a wary eye on the possibility that another dragon would appear. But, they have built their defences, their websites, social media, quality service and community presence and should they need to fight again, they are ready. We are all in this together and together we are stronger.
Vaccinating Downtown How do you vaccinate thousands of people who have as many doubts and questions… who have been living abnormal lives for over a year… who are anxious to get protection against a miserable disease — on short notice, with plenty of rules and regulations to follow? You hope for the best and plan for the worst! On April 1st, the Ontario government announced that it was expanding the C-19 vaccination program to some pharmacies as part of their Phase 2 roll out. As one of two local pharmacies chosen, it was an honour and a daunting task. We had been preparing for this for some time — procedures were developed, scheduling software was in place and tested and we knew we had the right people to get the job done. The response from the public was overwhelming; from the moment the news was released by the Government, our
phone lines were jammed. Everyone who called wanted to make sure their name was on our list and that they could receive a shot. Similarly, the online portal we had set up was extremely active as
people flocked to reserve their spot. All Easter weekend, we learned the system that the Ministry would use to track doses, called Covaxin (R). Physical distancing measures were put in place to ensure that we could protect everyone through the vaccine process. Our team performed dry runs to see if the flow would work and finally, when vaccine arrived on Monday, April 5, we felt ready. Tuesday morning at 9:15, the first client in St. Thomas was checked in to receive her vaccine. Truthfully, there were a couple of minor glitches, but our staff didn’t falter and the day proceeded. After that, we got into a routine. The people of St. Thomas respect the process and we work hard to live up to helping them feel better. by Steve Bond, Pharmacy Manager Yurek Pharmacy 519 Talbot Street
