TORONTO – Ontarians 40 and older will be eligible to start booking COVID-19 vaccinations this week.
The province on Monday confirmed the eligibility age is being lowered to include the 40-plus crowd, starting at 8 a.m. on Thursday, meaning in Thunder Bay they’ll be able to book an appointment through the provincial portal for a vaccination spot at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit’s mass vaccination clinic at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition.
Anyone born in 1981 or earlier is eligible.
The province also expanded bookings to those with at-risk health conditions, including dementia, diabetes and sickle cell disease, as well as Group Two people who are unable to work from home, including grocery store employees, those involved in transportation and grocery store workers.
The portal opens on Tuesday at 8 a.m. for anyone in the Group 2 category.
“With a stable and predictable supply of vaccine, Ontario’s vaccine roll-out 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,” said Health Minister Christine Elliott, in a release issued on Monday morning.
“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 province has also expanded the roll-out of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to pharmacies in hotspots, including Toronto and Peel for the first and Durham, Hamilton, Ottawa, Windsor-Essex and York regions for the latter.
