Glebe doctor turns pop-up clinic into event, vaccinating over 200 people in ‘Jabapalooza’

A street closure with music blaring isn't something residents are used to seeing during the pandemic, but it's what many came across when more than 200 people got COVID-19 vaccines at Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth's clinic over the weekend. 

Before the province lowered the eligible AstraZeneca age to 40 and up, the doctor says she was having hard time booking 55+ patients for appointments to get the shot from her initial shipment.

Once the age limit changed, Dr. Kaplan-Myrth says she received countless calls and requests for COVID-19 vaccines and so she decided to offer it to more than just her patients. She wanted to make sure she was vaccinating teachers, construction workers and others at high-risk of contracting the virus.

The doctor says the first 220 doses when quickly. She wanted to get the next 220 jabs completed in a single day, so she made an event of it, dubbing it “Jabapalooza.”

Jabapalooza itself closed down the street outside of the clinic, thanks to assistance from Ottawa city councillors Shawn Menard and Catherine McKenney. The event had an outdoor, post-shot waiting area and music cranked for those getting their shots to enjoy.

Jabapalooza update: this is the BEST way to spend a Saturday. A team of medical students and community volunteers are keeping this running smoothly. The sun is shining. There is music playing. Colourful chairs set up for post-jab. #COVID19Vaccine has never been so much fun! pic.twitter.com/Qug4zBItX0

— Dr Nili Kaplan-Myrth, MD, PhD, CCFP (@nilikm) April 24, 2021

The doctor is also looking at ways to expand her vaccination plans to in-home inoculations for residents with disabilities who cannot make it to another site. She feels people in those circumstances are falling through the cracks in the rollout.

She is also concerned with the added work load providing vaccinations is putting on those who make the operation possible, many of whom are volunteers, including medical students, community members and even Dr. Kaplan-Myrth's family.

“I'm afraid to put out offers to unless I know that we've got mechanisms in place to make this work without requiring me to have twenty-hour days,” Dr. Kaplan-Myrth explains while speaking to CityNews Ottawa. “I was literally working six o'clock in the morning until two o'clock in the morning for an entire week.”

She adds her husband is spending a significant amount of time, putting data from the vaccines administered at the practice into the province's COVaxON program — something she says is not his normal day job.

The doctor feels there are currently some issues with getting as many people as she can vaccinated due to the limitations involved with the AstraZeneca shot.

“If they give me Moderna in my office, if they give me Pfizer in my office… if I can have a vaccine that younger people are eligible for, then I can immunize all of the younger people as well and the flood gates will open once again,”

Dr. Kaplan Myrth feels the 'Jabapalooza' came together in a way outside of the box, with the key ingredient being reaching to the community. She feels this type of pop up can be replicated in neighbourhoods and communities across not only Ontario, but the country as a whole.