Ontario is picking up the pace with getting shots into arms, as the COVID-19 Omicron variant continues to escalate.
“It’s all hands on deck,” said Premier Doug Ford, in a press conference this afternoon.
Adults 18 and older in Ontario will be able to book a COVID-19 booster shot as of Monday, at a shorter interval.
The provincial vaccine portal will be accepting bookings for those who have had their second-dose three months ago or 84 days. That time period is cut in half compared to the previous recommendation. Those who are 50 and older, and have already been eligible for a booster shot, can rebook at the shorter interval. Rebooking through the online portal can start on Monday.
Pharamacies and other clinic settings will be able to offer booster shots to walk-ins as of this Friday.
The province will also be holding a holiday season testing blitz in high traffic areas like malls and seasonal markets. Rapid antigen tests will be offered to people for free. Peterborough and Kingston are the only places outside of the Toronto region that are on the province’s list for participating pop-up locations. The government has announced that across Ontario, take home kits will be available at LCBO stores.
“As we combat the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant, nothing matters more than getting these booster doses into people’s arms. I am issuing a call to arms. We need every member of Team Ontario to stand tall and do their part as we work to protect our hard-fought progress and keep Ontarians safe,” said Ford.
Ford has also announced that venues that have a capacity of 1,000 or more, will have to reduce that number by half starting on Saturday. The policy will apply to places like concert venues, movie theatres, zoos, museums, and event spaces.
Here is more from the province directly about where the COVID-19 fight stands.
“Ontario’s cautious approach and high vaccination rates have contributed to keep hospital and intensive care unit capacity stable. As of December 15, there were 153 COVID-19 related critical illness patients in ICU. The seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 related critical illness patients in ICU is 154. Approximately 600 ICU beds are available, with nearly 500 additional ICU beds available for surge capacity if required.
To quickly scale up capacity to administer up to previous peak vaccination capacity, the province has asked public health units, hospitals, pharmacists, primary care providers and other health care providers to ramp up additional vaccinations sites and prioritize the administration of first, second and booster doses across the province. On December 14, 127,000 vaccines were administered in Ontario, well above recent provincial capacity, and the province is continuing to ramp up to administer 200,000 to 300,000 doses per day by next week based on demand. The province is also partnering with additional health care providers and first responders to support Ontario’s vaccination efforts and administer more shots in arms.
Ontario is engaging with large corporations who have the capabilities to implement workplace and community clinics to support the booster dose rollout for employees, their families and the local community. Bruce Power, in partnership with Grey Bruce Health Unit, will be the first corporate-led vaccine clinic, starting the week of December 20. In addition, the successful mobile vaccine clinic strategy will be expanded to meet the evolving challenges of COVID-19 and its variants. More information on the corporate and mobile clinics will be available in the coming weeks. The province will also be expanding the Stop the Spread Business Information Line to allow businesses to request vaccine supply to administer on-site for employees. Businesses will need to meet certain criteria to ensure proper storage and safe administration of the vaccines, including availability of health human resources.”
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