General Rick Hillier says Ontario wants to run “an efficient and equitable” Covid-19 vaccination program.
Ontario’s Covid-19 Task Force leader wants it so every person in the Province can voluntarily receive their doses.
He says it will roll-out in three phases.
The First Phase will include delivering 2.4 million doses from Pfizer and Moderna in the first quarter of 2021 to the most vulnerable like Long Term Care residents and frontline healthcare workers.
Specifically, the following would be amongst this first group:
- Residents, staff, essential caregivers, and other employees of congregate living settings (e.g., long-term care homes and retirement homes) that provide care for seniors as they are at higher risk of infection and serious illness from Covid-19;
- Health care workers, including hospital employees, other staff who work or study in hospitals, and other health care personnel;
- Adults in Indigenous communities, including remote communities where risk of transmission is high; and
- Adult recipients of chronic home health care.
The Province will also be prioritizing the rollout in regions with the highest rates of Covid-19 infection, including those in the Red-Control and Lockdown zones.
At first, Covid-19 vaccines are expected to only be available for non-pregnant adults over the age of 18 years old based on early clinical trials.
As further information becomes available from clinical trials and from Health Canada approvals, the groups for which the vaccines are authorized for use could change.
The Second Phase would happen starting possibly in April when the bulk of future vaccine dosages are expected to arrive and be available for other residents.
“And we will start and we will ask of course, the cabinet for recommendations as to the priorities beyond the vulnerable and the healthcare workers, so we can start ensuring everybody across Ontario who is eligible and who wants the vaccine can get it,” said Hillier.
The Third Phase would see the operation eventually shift to one that’s identical to current flu vaccine programs where the Covid vaccines would be available through pharmacies and medical clinics and see the special vaccinations sites start to phase out.
Ontario will deploy its first shipments of safe & effective vaccines where they will make the most impact and save lives. Those who are at higher risk of infection and serious illness, & those who care for them, will receive the vaccine first.
Learn more:https://t.co/G23xHBfJwg pic.twitter.com/ZFnOvYOAc1
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) December 7, 2020
Groups receiving the early vaccine doses include:
• Residents, staff, essential caregivers & other employees of congregate living settings;
• #HealthCare workers;
• Adults in First Nations, Metis & Inuit communities; and
• Adult recipients of chronic home health care. pic.twitter.com/wUSrCZ6jPn— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) December 7, 2020
To watch the Province’s full December 7th address, see below.
https://www.facebook.com/FordNationDougFord/videos/1242125762837183
Photo via Premier Doug Ford’s Twitter Account