Ontario Sets New Vaccine Targets With the Approval of the Johnson and Johnson Vaccine

Friday, 5 March 2021 13:37

Retired General Rick Hillier has set a new goal for the Province to get the first shot of vaccine into the arms of every single person in Ontario who wants one by the first day of summer.

ONTARIO - Local seniors can expect to get vaccinated much sooner than originally expected.

The Ford Government provided an update on the vaccine rollout today. They now plan to have all Ontarians over the age of 60 by the end of May, which is a full two months ahead of schedule.

Ontario will have 190,000 doses of AstraZeneca arrive next week. They will be giving those shots to people between the ages of 60-64 and the vaccines will be delivered at pharmacies across the Province. More details on which pharmacies will have the AstraZeneca vaccine and how to book an appointment will come out next week.

Premier Doug Ford and General Rick Hillier are both calling the Johnson and Johnson vaccine a real game changer. Hillier says they hope to have everyone vaccinated by the first day of summer.

"By the end of June we should have enough vaccinations to get 1 needle in the arm of every person in Ontario who is eligible and wants a vaccine. I want to actually challenge this even further and I want to say by the first day of summer, vaccine supply dependent, we want to have a first needle in the arm of every person in Ontario who wants a vaccine."

Phase two of the vaccine will start in April and run until July. The Province will continue to focus on people age 60 to 79 years old. They will be first in line to get the shot. Phase 2 will also include anyone with specific health conditions and some primary caregivers; People who live and work in congregate settings and some primary caregivers; People who live in hot spots with high rates of death, hospitalizations and transmission; and, Certain workers who cannot work from home.

Seniors will continue to receive the Pfizer-BionNtech and Moderna vaccines. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine that was approved this morning only requires one dose.

Starting March 15th, the province will launch an online booking system and a provincial customer service desk to answer questions and support appointment bookings at mass immunization clinics. This will initially support individuals over the age of 80 as part of Phase One, eventually extending to more groups during Phase Two. While some public health units are currently using their own booking systems to vaccinate individuals aged 80 and over, it is anticipated that the majority of public health units will transition to the provincial booking system after it has launched.

Ontario has identified 13 hot spot regions that will get more vaccine supply in phase 2. The following Health Units will receive an extra 920,000 doses.

- Toronto
- York
- Peel
- Durham
- Halton
- Hamilton
- Niagara
- Ottawa
- Simcoe Muskoka
- Waterloo
- Wellington Dufferin Guelph
- Windsor Essex