People aged 80 and older will be able to schedule appointments online and over the phone
The Ontario government has opened a provincial booking system and customer support desk to facilitate COVID-19 vaccination appointment bookings, according to a press release issued on Sunday.
The portal started to accept appointments on Monday at 8 a.m. This portal will be accepting appointment bookings at mass immunization clinics, starting with people aged 80 and older.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in the press release that people who are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine should take it.
“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 Ford. “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.”
People will be guided to make an appointment through the provincial booking system or their local public health unit if there is a booking system or call centre in place. People will be asked for information from their Ontario health card such as birth date, postal code, and email address or phone number when they book their appointments. First and second vaccination appointments will be scheduled at the time of booking.
Minister of Health Christine Elliott said this booking system will help to fight COVID-19.
“The provincial booking system will be critical in supporting the next phase of Ontario’s vaccine rollout as more vaccines become available,” said Elliott. “We know everyone is eager to receive the vaccine, and as we continue to build capacity, we are making it easier and more convenient for individuals to book and receive the vaccine as quickly as possible.”
Appointments are available for people turning 80 or older in 2021 as part of Phase One of Ontario’s vaccine distribution plan. The online booking system and call centre will be extended to additional age-based groups in Phase Two of the vaccine distribution plan starting in April.
Ontario is expecting a high volume of traffic to its online booking system. People who are ineligible are asked to avoid accessing the booking system or calling the customer service desk to allow those who can to schedule an appointment.
Phase One of Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout is nearing completion. The province is preparing to move into Phase Two of the vaccine distribution plan next month, and it is going to focus on vaccinating populations based on age and risk.
There will be 255 vaccination sites set up across Ontario in March to support the administration of COVID-19 vaccines. These sites include 153 mass immunization clinics.
There have been more than 1.1 million vaccine doses administered across the province, including more than 127,000 of them given to people living in long-term care homes to date. More than 285,000 Ontarians have been fully immunized. Ontario leads the country in the total number of vaccines administered.
