Ontario Steps up Vaccine Rollout, Expands Online Appointments for Shots

Ontario Steps up Vaccine Rollout, Expands Online Appointments for Shots
Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Jan. 12, 2021. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)
Isaac Teo
3/19/2021
Updated:
3/20/2021
Premier Doug Ford announced today that Ontario will accept appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations through its online booking system to residents aged 75 and above starting Monday, March 22, which Ford said is ahead of the planned schedule.
“Thanks to the efforts of an army of front line health care heroes and volunteers, we are getting needles in arms even faster than we had imagined.” Ford saidin a news release. 
“All we need now is a steady and reliable supply of vaccines from the federal government to ensure anyone who wants one, gets one as soon as possible so we can all stay safe.”
The premier’s office said more than 239,000 appointments have been made since the online booking system was launched on March 15. To date, more than 1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered province-wide.
As of March 22, Ontario will also be aligning its age requirement for the AstraZeneca vaccine to the recommendations made by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization on March 16.
This means that residents aged 60 and above will be eligible to book appointments for AstraZeneca vaccines at participating pharmacies and primary care settings starting March 22.
The provincial government said another 350 pharmacies will be brought on board across Ontario in the next two weeks, which will total to about 700 locations administering the vaccines. Details on additional locations and application process will be available in the coming days.