Residents 80 years and older can book their COVID-19 vaccine starting this week
Published March 14, 2021 at 11:42 am
The province is gearing up to launch its new provincial booking system and customer service desk for COVID-19 vaccination appointment bookings, which will go live at 8 a.m. on Monday, March 15.
Residents turning 80 or older in 2021 (born in 1941 or earlier) can make an appointment — or someone trusted to make the appointment on their behalf — by visiting the province’s website at Ontario.ca/bookvaccine, where they’ll be guided to make an appointment through the provincial booking system or their local public health unit.
Here’s what residents will need to provide when booking:
- Information from their green Ontario health card
- Birth date
- Postal code
- Email address and/or phone number
Those who still have a red and white health card, or who require assistance with booking, can call the Provincial Vaccine Information Line number at 1-888-999-6488 beginning on Monday, March 15. The line is open Monday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
At the time of booking, residents will schedule their appointments for the first and second dose of the vaccine.
“We are making steady progress in the execution of our vaccine distribution plan, and the launching of the online booking system is another major milestone,” said Premier Doug Ford, who says the province has everything in place for vaccinations but is still waiting on more supply of the vaccine from the federal government.
“In this phase of our plan we are still offering vaccines to our most vulnerable, so I encourage everyone aged 80 and older to use the portal to book an appointment. For everyone else, please be patient, as we get more supply, the vaccine will be offered to more people.”
Starting in April, the online booking tool and call centre will extend to more age groups that are part of Phase Two of the province’s vaccine rollout.
The province is expecting a high volume of traffic to the online booking system, and is asking those who are not yet eligible to avoid accessing the booking system or calling the service desk for now.
To support the administration of the vaccine, the province says 255 vaccination sites across Ontario are planned for March, including 153 mass immunization clinics.
Meanwhile, vaccinations in primary care settings and community locations, such as physician offices, began on March 13 in Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon, Hamilton, Toronto, Guelph, Peterborough, and Simcoe-Muskoka.
Primary care providers will not be taking appointments by request, but will be contacting eligible Ontarians aged 60-64 directly to book an appointment.
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