Ontario plans to expand vaccination as COVID cases stabilize in several provinces

Ontario is expanding its COVID-19 vaccination rollout to more target groups as the province and neighbouring Quebec each reported fewer than 1,000 new cases today.

The Ontario government reported that all long-term care residents across the province have been given an opportunity for their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

The province’s vaccine taskforce told regional public health officers in a memo today that it is expanding its focus in the coming weeks, with staff and essential caregivers in long-term care homes, top priority health care workers and Indigenous adults in remote and higher risk communities among those who are to receive immediate priority for the vaccine.

Delays in vaccine shipments forced the province to concentrate its inoculation efforts on long-term care residents in recent weeks, but the memo says the province expects those deliveries to increase again.

Once those priority groups have been addressed, the province says seniors 80 or older, adults receiving chronic home care and all Indigenous adults will be next in line for a vaccine. 

The news comes as several provinces are reporting a drop or stabilization in the number of new COVID-19 cases.

Both Ontario and Quebec reported fewer than 1,000 new cases each, while New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador also saw a drop in the number of new cases reported today after recent surges.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2021

The Canadian Press