Ontario is moving ahead with Phase Two of its COVID-19 vaccination plan. It will start by focusing on hot spots, manufacturers and those with the highest-risk health conditions.
Premier Doug Ford says they’ve received enough doses to dramatically increase vaccination, planning to distribute another nine million by the end of June.
“More mass vaccination centres, including those that have paused operations because of the lack of supply, are coming back online,” he says.
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of our frontline health care workers, we are getting needles in arms as quickly as possible and have now administered over 2.6 million vaccines,” says the Premier. “As soon as vaccines arrive, our focus is turning to the communities hit hardest by COVID-19 and those with the highest-risk health conditions.”
As of Tuesday, individuals with the following highest-risk health conditions are eligible to be vaccinated.
- Organ transplant recipients;
- Hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients;
- People with neurological diseases in which respiratory function may be compromised (e.g., motor neuron disease, myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis);
- Hematological malignancy diagnosed less than one year ago;
- Sickle cell disease;
- Kidney disease eGFR< 30; and
- Essential caregivers for individuals in the groups listed above.
Patients with the specific health conditions listed above, as well as their essential caregiver, will be identified for vaccination due to an increased risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19, regardless of age.
The province expects most of this group will have received the vaccine by the end of the month.
“As we continue our fight against COVID-19, it is critical that we continue to ramp up capacity to protect our vulnerable populations and those with the highest-risk health conditions,” says Health Minister Christine Elliott. “While we have recently implemented a province-wide emergency brake to protect Ontarians and limit transmission, vaccines remain our best defence against COVID-19 and the variants.”
Those over the age of 60 are also now eligible to receive the vaccine.
Appointments are booked through the provincial vaccine portal by visiting Ontario.ca/bookvaccine, or by calling the provincial vaccine booking line at 1-833-943-3900.
Anyone 55 and older can also get the vaccine at participating pharmacies. Pharmasave in Fort Frances is one of them.
As of Monday, more than 2.6 million vaccine doses had been administered across the province.
This includes 85 per cent of residents 80 and older and more than two-thirds of residents aged 75 to 79. Over 332 thousand people have been fully vaccinated.
(With files from Colin Redston/99.9 The Bay)
