A public health nurse administers a COVID-19 vaccine. (File photo supplied by Southwestern Public Health)A public health nurse administers a COVID-19 vaccine. (File photo supplied by Southwestern Public Health)
Windsor

Province opens up booking for COVID-19 vaccines to all 18 and up

The Ontario government is opening up its portal to book an appointment for a COVID-19 shot to those 18 and up Tuesday morning.

The province expects to receive 2.2-million doses of vaccine this week, in part because Pfizer-BioNTech decided to send extra ahead of the May 24 weekend.

The online portal will open at 8 a.m., but residents can also book an appointment by calling the Provincial Vaccine Booking Line at 1-833-943-3900.

Those who are 17 now, but will turn 18 this year are also invited to book an appointment for a Pfizer vaccine through the provincial system. Pfizer's dose is the only one approved by Health Canada so far for Canadians that young.

Those who are eligible to book are asked to be patient because it may take time to receive a date for their appointment. Public health units are responsible for managing the rollout in their area and they may have a different timeline based on the availability of vaccine.

Starting the week of May 31, children between 12 and 17-years will be allowed to start booking their appointments through the provincial system.

As of 8 p.m. Sunday, more than 7.2-million doses of vaccine had been administered across the province. More than 93 per cent of those over the age of 80 have had at least one dose, and more than 55 per cent over 18 have. More than 432,000 Ontario residents are now fully vaccinated.

The province anticipates another 4.7-million doses of the Pfizer shot in June, but allocations for July have not been provided yet.

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