Vaccine opportunities expanded

With vaccine supply to Ontario seemingly remedied, the provincial government has further expanded eligibility to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment throughout this week.

As of Tuesday, May 11, individuals with at-risk health conditions such as dementia, diabetes and sickle cell disease, as well as Group Two of people who cannot work from home including grocery store, restaurant and transportation workers will be eligible to book an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

In addition, effective today (Thursday, May 13) at 8:00 a.m., individuals turning 40 and over in 2021 in non-hot spot communities will also be eligible to book an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at a mass immunization clinic.

Eligible individuals can schedule an appointment through the provincial booking system, or directly through public health units that use their own booking system. This builds upon the eligibility of those aged 18 and over in hot spot areas and is aligned with the rollout announced on May 2.

“With a stable and predictable supply of vaccines, Ontario’s vaccine rollout continues to pick up speed, and we are on track to administer a first dose to 65 per cent of Ontario adults by the end of May,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

“As we continue to vaccinate even more Ontarians, we remain focused on protecting those most at risk, and I want to thank all of our frontline health care workers for their tireless work each day to protect the health and safety of Ontarians.”

In addition, due to increased vaccine supply the province is adding high-risk health care workers, dialysis patients, and all First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals to the list of those eligible to book their appointment to receive a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine earlier than the extended four-month interval.

These groups face a greater risk of contracting and suffering serious illness from COVID-19. Eligibility for booking will begin by the end of the week of May 10 and booking details will be provided in the coming days.
“As we have been talking about over the past few months, Ontario has the capacity to administer hundreds of thousands of vaccines a day, once we get supply from the federal government. It is good to see that these vaccines are finally arriving in large quantities throughout May, leading to the ability to vaccinate and protect many more Ontarians,” said Niagara West MPP Sam Oosteroff.

“This expansion of eligibility will help protect the health of people in Niagara, and ensure we are able to safely reopen sooner rather than later.”

The province is on track to have administered first doses to 65 per cent of Ontarians aged 18 and over by the end of May.