THUNDER BAY - The age threshold for those to receive a COVID-19 vaccine could be lowered again in the Thunder Bay District this week according to the medical officer of health.
Dr. Janet DeMille, medical officer of health with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, said vaccine appointments for those who are over the age of 70 should be opening up soon.
Currently in the district, vaccine appointments are available to those over the age of 75.
“We did want to make sure that was the next age group that had access to immunizations,” DeMille said. “We opened up a significant number of appointment slots for that.”
On Sunday, the provincial government announced 11 health units moving into offering the COVID-19 vaccine to those over the age of 70, including one in Northeastern Ontario.
The Thunder Bay District was not included in that initial announcement, but DeMille said she expects the health unit will be able to begin offering vaccinations to those 70 and over this week.
“We wanted to be assured that 75 to 79 have access to those appointments, we will be opening it up to 70 plus and we anticipate that could happen this week,” she said.
Vaccine appointments in the district have been filling up within minutes of being open, though the health unit announced on Monday morning that appointments were still available for those over the age of 75.
There have been concerns expressed by public health and city officials on why Thunder Bay has not been labeled at COVID-19 hotspot and not included in the province’s pilot project to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine in pharmacies.
However, there have been concerns regarding the safety of AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe and on Monday, P.E.I. suspended use of the vaccine after it had allocated doses for people between the ages of 18 and 29 who work directly with the public.
According to Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, Health Canada will be providing an update today on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Canada.
Hajdu did not provide any details on that update, but said those who may have an appointment booked or already received the vaccine, can contact their health care provider if they have any concerns.
“There will be updated messaging from Health Canada and National Advisory Committee on Immunization regarding onward use of AstraZeneca and who it might be appropriate for,” Hajdu said.