Ontario will unveil its plan for COVID-19 booster shots on Wednesday

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 3, 2021

Ontario will unveil its plan for more COVID-19 booster shots Wednesday, clearing the way for AstraZeneca recipients and others to get top-ups as the province continues efforts to get more first and second doses into arms.

The blueprint follows guidance to the provinces last week from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, which recommended additional injections for groups of people “at increased risk of severe illness and highest risk of waning protection.”

Those over 70 should get boosters with the mRNA vaccines Pfizer or Moderna, as should anyone who received AstraZeneca, its equivalent Covishield or the one-dose Janssen vaccine, many front-line, health-care workers with direct patient contact, as well as First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in communities vulnerable to outbreaks, the committee advised.

Boosters should not be given until “at least” six months after the last shot, which, for example, could put the earliest AstraZeneca recipients in line for third shots in late November.

“Vaccination against COVID is your best protection. It will save your life,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said Tuesday. “We’ve seen that by the countless millions of Ontarians who have already received the vaccine.”

She pledged “all Ontarians” will be given an indication on when they can expect third doses.

Ontario reported 331 new cases of the virus Tuesday, compared with the 948 new infections recorded on the same day last year -- before vaccines became available in the province last spring.

Of the 331 new cases, 195 were in people not fully vaccinated or whose status is unknown, and 136 were fully vaccinated, Elliott said.

The seven-day average of cases, a closely watched statistic, has stabilized in the high 300s in recent days as provincial health officials keep a close watch on trends as the weather cools and more activities move indoors.

Officials said more first and second shots are crucial to increasing safety levels in the community with the more highly contagious Delta variant the dominant strain.

“With over 5.5 million eligible adults and youth not yet fully vaccinated in Canada, it is important to emphasize that getting more people to complete their two-dose primary series remains a key focus of the immunization effort,” said federal Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam.

Ontario’s vaccination rates have been going up slowly with the goal of reaching at least 90 per cent. Another 8,663 residents over age 12 got second shots Monday and 5,111 got first doses.

“We are increasing the numbers. Over 88.2 per cent of the population of Ontario has now received a first dose; 84.5 per cent a second dose,” Elliott said.

Health Canada is widely expected to approve shots for kids aged five to 11 within weeks, and Elliott said a plan is in place, including after-hours clinics in schools.

Ontario has been giving booster doses in nursing homes and other congregate living facilities with more than 150,000 shots administered. The province has about 3.6 million doses of COVID vaccines on hand.