Ontario’s online vaccine portal coming March 15, province to begin treating people 80-and-over

The province announced Wednesday it plans to start administering COVID-19 vaccines to residents aged 80 and older in the third week of March.

Retired Gen. Rick Hiller, the head of the province’s vaccine task force, has presented a firmer timeline for distributing the shots, noting that the schedule is dependent on vaccine supply.

An online booking system and service desk will become available on March 15th and people in that 80-and-older age range, or those booking, for them can access it.

“Unless you’re 80 years old, or unless you’re acting to get a reservation for somebody who’s 80 years old or more, please do not go online,” said Hillier on Wednesday.

“You will not be permitted to go through the system if you’re not in that age bracket or acting for somebody in that age bracket.”

Hillier says the task force aims to then vaccinate adults aged 75-and-older starting April 15th, and shots will go to those 70-and-older beginning on May 1st.

“I’d love to say [that] by Labour Day weekend we’re going to have every single person in Ontario who is eligible and wants a vaccine to have one but I am a little reluctant to do that because it depends on the arrival of those vaccines,” Hillier added.

Here’s a look at the timeline issued by retired Gen. Hiller:

 

• Third week of March: Vaccinations start for those 80 and older.

 

• April 15: Vaccinations start for those 75 and older.

 

• May 1: Vaccinations start for those 70 and older.

 

• June 1: Vaccinations start for those 65 and older.

 

• First week of July: Vaccinations start for those 60 and older.

 

Essential workers could receive shots in May if supply allows but the government is still deciding who will be in that group.

Vaccinations in populations considered high-risk, including Indigenous adults, will continue during that phase, and essential workers will begin getting their shots in May.

On February 18th, the Ford government announced the province has administered over 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to Phase One priority populations, which includes some adults 80 years of age and older.

Phase Two of its vaccination rollout is expected to begin in April 2021.

“We are ramping up our Phase One program now that supplies are arriving again,” said Hillier.

“Our focus continues on our populations of highest risk, but we are also refining the systems and processes required for mass vaccinations in Phase Two. Our Ontario health care workers have done an exceptional job of completing the first 500,000 vaccinations and I want them to know that they are the real heroes of this important work.”

Liberal leader Steven Del Duca reacted to the province’s updated vaccine rollout, saying Premier Doug Ford is in over his head.

“Doug Ford’s admission that it will take several more weeks for his government to produce a basic online portal for vaccine registrations is just another example of how he is not up to the job of leading Ontario through this crisis,” Del Duca said in a release.

“While other Canadian premiers were working hard to prepare for vaccines, Doug Ford was obsessed with getting beer into 7-Eleven. Now, the people of our province will be at the back of the line to get a vaccine. This latest Doug Ford fiasco is inexcusable.”

---

With files from The Canadian Press