Ontario announced today they are revising their COVID-19 vaccine rollout schedule, hoping to open vaccination eligibility for all adults in the province by the end of May 2021.
"In response to an expected increase in vaccine supply from the federal government, the Ontario government is preparing to ramp up its rollout of COVID-19 vaccines," said a provincial government press release today.
The release also says "Approximately 800,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive in Ontario per week at the start of May, ramping up to 940,000 doses per week by the end of May. This reliable increase in vaccine supply allows the province to accelerate its vaccine rollout."
Ontario's revised outlook, based only on scheduled deliveries of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, hopes to move forward on a new, rolling weekly schedule.
Below are dates when groups can begin booking their appointment province-wide, including in Oakville and Halton (though the next appointment may not be available until some time after:)
- Week of April 26: All Ontario adults age 55 and up; those 45 years old and up in hot-spot communities; and licensed child-care workers. (**This booking confirmed to begin 8:00am on Friday, April 30)
- Week of May 3: Ontario adults over the age of 50, adults age 18 and up in hot-spot communities, those with "high risk" health conditions and "some people who cannot work from home."
- Week of May 10: Ontario adults over the age of 40, others with "high risk" health conditions and "more people who cannot work from home."
- Week of May 17: All Ontario adults over the age of 30.
- Week of May 24: All Ontario adults over the age of 18.
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott led the announcement made today at Queen's Park; a full video of the announcement is available here online.
"More predictable supply from the federal government also allows the province to provide more certainty in its vaccine rollout and when Ontarians can expect to receive the vaccine," said Elliott. "To that end, as of April 30, at 8:00am, individuals age 55 and older across the province will now be eligible to book their appointment through the provincial booking system."
When questioned how this aggressive schedule can be met with a slower average daily rollout thus far, Minister Elliott cited "unstable vaccine supply to date," also saying "the province has built a strong foundation for its vaccine rollout."
The release today also announced a targeted commitment to "allocate 50% of upcoming vaccine shipments to hot spot communities as identified by postal code," mainly focusing on Peel and Toronto Regions (though one hot spot has been identified in Milton, and an expansion for more Halton postal codes to be added is possible.)
Ontario also says this approach "will not take away vaccines from other public health unit regions, whose allocations will remain the same as previously planned and will increase later in May."
"This is exciting news," said Elliott. "The way out of the pandemic is vaccines and the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter every day."
She also re-iterated, "The best vaccine remains the first one you are offered, and I strongly recommend booking an appointment as soon as you are offered."
More than five million doses of vaccine have been administered in Ontario, with about 4.65 million adults having received at least one dose so far.
