TORONTO – All adults in Ontario will be eligible to book a COVID-19 vaccine starting Tuesday, after the provincial government said doses scheduled to be delivered next week arrived early.
The province said those who are turning 18 this year will also be allowed to book a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine — the only one currently authorized by Health Canada for use in youth 12 and older.
Vaccines were made available earlier this month to those 18 and older living in one of the 114 communities designated as COVID-19 hot spots.
The government had initially said it would lower the vaccine eligibility age to 30 this week for residents across Ontario.
The province is also switching gears in how it distributes vaccines.
It will now send the shots to regions on a per-capita basis, after two weeks of sending half the vaccine supply to COVID-19 hot spots.
In Toronto, which will receive fewer vaccines this week as a result of the change, Mayor John Tory said the city will have to figure out how to manage the drop in supply as demand for vaccines increases due to the broader eligibility.
“We can’t make appointments available for which we don’t have vaccines,” he said Monday.
The province has said it hopes to see all eligible Ontarians fully vaccinated by the end of September. The government said it’s on track to see 65 per cent of Ontario adults receive a first dose by the end of this month.
The eligibility expansion come after a milestone weekend for the province.
Premier Doug Ford tweeted yesterday that seven million doses of vaccine had been administered in Ontario.
Meanwhile, Shoppers Drug Mart said it is now offering rapid antigen COVID-19 tests for asymptomatic people at all its pharmacies in Ontario and Alberta, though these have to be purchased.
