Physicians will contact Ontarians 80-and-over for vaccination appointments, officials say

By The Canadian Press

Ontario residents aged 80 and older will be contacted about vaccination appointments in the coming weeks as the province expands its COVID-19 immunization efforts.

Provincial officials say primary physicians may begin contacting seniors in that age group while an online booking system and service desk for appointments are still in development.

Most appointments for those residents will begin in March but officials say some public health units may move ahead sooner once they complete vaccinations for highest-priority individuals, which include long-term care residents.

The province was to receive close to 157,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week and says it expects its weekly supply from the company to range between 173,000 and 186,000 doses through the end of March.


RELATED: Canada to receive 4M Pfizer vaccines by end of March, up to 11M doses through June


Ontario expected to accept a delivery of thousands of more COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday but inclement weather in the U.S. pushed back the shipments.

Officials say doses of the Moderna vaccine for next week will be lower than expected, at 47,400, but supply is expected to increase in March.

The supply increase will coincide with an expected expansion of Ontario’s vaccine rollout to target the 80 and older group, seniors in congregate care, and all Indigenous adults.

Ontario reported 1,150 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 47 more deaths from the virus.

The province said 16,967 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered since the last daily report, for a total of 518,834 doses so far.

Meanwhile, the province announced Friday that Toronto, Peel, and North Bay-Parry Sound will remain under its lockdown measures and stay-at-home order until at least March 8.

York Region will move to the colour-tiered framework as of Monday, Feb. 22.

Top doctors for Toronto and Peel have asked for that to be delayed until at least March 9 because of the presence of variant strains of the virus in their communities.

Earlier Friday, the province’s labour ministry announced it would start sending inspectors next week to visit reopening small businesses in an effort to boost compliance with pandemic orders.

Inspectors will visit retail stores, gyms, and personal service businesses in regions that have already seen a lifting of restrictions.

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