York Region hotspot vaccination appointments fill up in one hour

Dailyhive.com
April 8, 2021

York Region opened up vaccine appointments to residents as young as 45 living in postal codes that are known COVID-19 hotspots Wednesday morning.

The initial 8,000 appointments filled quickly. The region shared that all appointment slots for high-priority communities were fully booked by 9:30 am after opening the system at 8:30 am. It said more would be made available as soon as more vaccine shipments arrive.

Ontario moved into Phase 2 of its COVID-19 immunization strategy Tuesday, meaning people with underlying health conditions, essential workers, and people living in hotspot neighbourhoods are now a priority.

In York Region, residents born from 1962 to 1976 living in five neighbourhoods identified as hot spots could book their appointments by phone or via the online portal.

The municipality dedicated two clinics to vaccinate people living in the following Vaughan and Markham postal codes:

L4L
L6A
L4K
L4J
L3S

York Region chose those communities using data to determine which areas had a high prevalence of variant cases, high infection rates, and high hospitalization and death rates.

People in York Region who live outside those five postal codes are eligible for a vaccine if they’re born in 1956 or earlier, are a high priority healthcare worker, an Indigenous adult, a faith leader, or receiving chronic home care from select clinics.