January 5, 2021 News Release

TORONTO — The Ontario government is continuing the rollout of Phase One of its vaccine implementation plan by ensuring that all residents, health care workers and essential caregivers at long-term care homes in the priority regions of Toronto, Peel, York and Windsor-Essex receive a COVID-19 vaccination by January 21, 2021.

The government’s vaccine rollout is well underway since launching in December. Frontline health care workers who participated in the successful Pfizer pilot program in Toronto and Ottawa are receiving their second doses this week. To date, 44 vaccine sites have been established. Over 50,000 people have been administered the Pfizer vaccine, including over 26,000 vaccinations administered to health care workers in long-term care homes and retirement homes, over 20,000 vaccinations administered to health care workers and nearly 1,000 vaccinations administered to residents.

Nearly 3,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine were administered to 24 long-term care homes between December 31, 2020 and January 3rd, 2021. Over 4,000 doses to 26 long-term care homes of the Moderna vaccine are planned to be administered between January 4 and January 6. An estimated 2 million vaccine doses are expected to arrive throughout the winter during Phase One of the province’s vaccine implementation plan.

“Ontario continues to make important progress in quickly and safely vaccinating our frontline health care workers, our most vulnerable and those at greatest risk, and we continue to administer doses to thousands of Ontarians across the province,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Our Vaccination Distribution Task Force, led by General Rick Hillier, has put a plan in place to get these doses distributed and administered as quickly as possible and that plan is working.”

On December 30th, Ontario received nearly 53,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine from the federal government. This first, small shipment is being used for a pilot in Toronto, York, Peel and Windsor-Essex to vaccinate residents at long-term care homes and high-risk retirement homes, with the vaccine being administered at select long-term care homes within a day of receiving the shipment.

To read the news release in its entirety click here

News Release from Ontario.ca the official website of the Government of Ontario.

Image by fernando zhiminaicela from Pixabay