Pfizer's COVID vaccine. 18 February 2021. (BlackburnNews.com photo by Colin Gowdy)Pfizer's COVID vaccine. 18 February 2021. (BlackburnNews.com photo by Colin Gowdy)
London

Vaccine booking expanded to children 12 and up

The province has expanded vaccine eligibility to youth in Ontario aged 12 and up starting this Sunday.

In a statement issued from the Ontario government early Friday evening, parents of children as young as 12 can begin booking vaccine appointments to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine through the provincial booking system starting May 23 at 8 a.m. or by phone at 1-833-943-3900.

Those who are not yet 12 years old will be able to book an appointment later. The Pfizer vaccine is currently the only COVID-19 vaccine authorized by Health Canada for use in people aged 12 and over.

According to officials with the Ontario government, the changes to the eligibility are at the request of some public health units seeking to remove barriers for families requesting vaccines. The decision comes over a week ahead of schedule. Earlier this week, the province anticipated those aged 12-17 would become eligible by the week of May 31. It was only Tuesday when Ontario made vaccines available to all adults.

"Offering the protection of the vaccine to youth aged 12 and over is a significant milestone in Ontario's fight against COVID-19," the release said. "The province is on track to have administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines to ten million Ontarians by the end of June, and 65 per cent of Ontarians aged 18 and over before the end of May. The province expects to reach all youth aged 12 and over with a first dose before the end of June and with a second dose by the end of August 2021."

As of Thursday at 8 p.m., over 7.7 million have been administered across the province. Over 59 per cent of the population aged 18 and over have received at least one dose, and more than 495,000 Ontarians are fully immunized, including 96 per cent of long-term care residents.

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