More people who cannot work from home, those with health conditions deemed "at-risk," and adults 40 and older will be able to book appointments to get the COVID-19 vaccine this week.
The Ontario government has announced that starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, vaccine eligibility is being expanded to include individuals with at-risk health conditions such as dementia, diabetes, and sickle cell disease. Essential workers from group two of the province’s phase two vaccine rollout plan such as grocery store, restaurant, and transportation workers will also be able to book appointments at mass vaccination clinics starting Tuesday.
By 8 a.m. Thursday, the minimum age for vaccine eligibility at mass immunization clinics in non-hot spot communities drops to 40. That means people born in 1981 and earlier can schedule an appointment for their first dose through the provincial booking system or through public health units that use their own booking system.
“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,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said in a statement. “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."
The increased vaccine supply also means Ontario is able to allow high-risk health care workers, dialysis patients, and all First Nations, Inuit, and Métis individuals to book an appointment to receive their second dose earlier than the extended four-month interval. The groups were selected because they are at a greater risk of contracting and suffering serious illness from COVID-19, the province said on Monday. Booking eligibility and details will be provided before the end of the week for this group.
The province has also given the nod for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to be made available at select pharmacies in hot spot areas. In Toronto and Peel, there will be nearly 80 pharmacies offering Pfizer shots. Up to 60 pharmacies will offer the Moderna vaccine in Windsor-Essex, Durham, Hamilton, Ottawa, and York regions.
As of Sunday night, more than 6.2 million vaccine doses have been administered across the province with over 393,000 Ontarians having received both shots to be considered fully inoculated.
Last week, vaccine eligibility across the province was expanded to include people aged 50 and older and the first phase of workers unable to work from home including elementary and secondary school employees.
The provincial government expects to open up vaccine eligibility to every adult by May 24. The ambitious plan comes as Ontario is slated to receive approximately 800,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine each week. That ramps up to 940,000 doses a week by the end of the month.
Those eligible to get the shot can book an appointment through the provincial portal online or by calling the vaccine booking line at 1-833-943-3900.
Below is the full list of group two essential workers:
-Essential and critical retail workers (including grocery, foodbank, pharmacy, ServiceOntario, ServiceCanada, Passport Canada, wholesalers and general goods, restaurant, LCBO workers)
-Workers in manufacturing industries directly involved in supporting the COVID-19 response, construction (including infrastructure) and other essential businesses and services where facilities are at heightened risk for COVID-19 outbreaks and spread
-Social workers and social services staff who provide in-person client services (including youth justice workers, Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program case workers)
-Courts and justice system workers (including probation and parole workers)
-Transportation, warehousing and distribution workers (including public transit workers, truck drivers supporting essential services, marine and rail cargo and maintenance, highway maintenance)
-Electricity (including system operations, generation, transmission, distribution and storage workers)
-Communications infrastructure workers (including cellular, satellite, landline, internet, public safety radio)
-Water and wastewater management workers
-Financial services workers (bank branch staff)
-Veterinarians and veterinary teams
-Waste management workers
-Oil and petroleum workers (including petroleum refineries, crude oil and petroleum storage, transmission and distribution, retail sale of fuel)
-Natural gas and propane gas workers (including compression, storage, transmission and distribution of natural gas and propane)
-Mine workers (including those needed to ensure the continued operation of active mines)
-Uranium processing workers (those working in the refining and conversion of uranium and fabrication of fuel for nuclear power plants)