List of Ontario residents eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in Phase 2

Ontario has announced its updated vaccination plan which details the specific people who are eligible to receive their COVID-19 vaccines.

This phase will see shots administered based on risk factors including age, neighbourhood, existing health conditions and inability to work from home.

The province is planning on vaccinating nine million people in Phase 2 and the updated plan does not include the recently approved Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

After Phase 2 is completed, everyone between the ages of 16 and 59 will be eligible for their first dose.

Retired general Rick Hillier, who oversees the COVID-19 vaccine task force, said the province’s aim is to have “a first needle in the arm of every eligible person who wants it by the first day of summer,” which is June 20.

Here is the full list of people who will be eligible to receive the vaccine:

Older adults

• Seniors aged 75 and older will be eligible starting in April;
• Everyone over the age of 60 will be able to receive their first shot by the end of May;
• Adults aged 60-64 will be eligible to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine as it is not recommended for those 65 and older.

People with specific health conditions

The following people with these health conditions will be eligible for the vaccine in Phase 2 by descending risk:

• Highest risk:
  • Organ transplant recipients
  • Hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients
  • People with neurological diseases in which respiratory function may be compromised (e.g., motor neuron disease, myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis)
  • Haematological malignancy diagnosed less than 1 year ago
  • Kidney disease eGFR< 30
• High risk:
  • Obesity (BMI > 40)
  • Other treatments causing immunosuppression (e.g., chemotherapy, immunity-weakening medications)
  • Intellectual or developmental disabilities (e.g., Down Syndrome)
• At-risk:
  • Immune deficiencies / autoimmune disorders
  • Stroke / cerebrovascular disease
  • Dementia
  • Diabetes
  • Liver disease
  • All other cancers
  • Respiratory diseases
  • Spleen problems
  • Heart disease
  • Hypertension with end organ damage
  • Diagnosis of mental disorder
  • Substance use disorders
  • Thalassemia
  • Pregnancy
  • Immunocompromising health conditions
  • Other disabilities requiring direct support care in the community

Essential caregivers of those at the highest risk will also be eligible for the vaccine.

Those who live and work in congregate settings

All at-risk staff, essential caregivers and residents from the following congregate settings will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine:

• Supportive housing
• Developmental services / intervenor and supported independent living (SIL)
• Emergency homeless shelters
• Other homeless populations not in shelters
• Mental health and addictions congregate settings
• Homes for special care Violence Against Women (VAW) shelters and Anti-Human Trafficking (AHT) residents
• Children’s residential facilities
• Youth justice facilities
• Indigenous healing and wellness
• Provincial and demonstration schools
• Farm workers who live in congregate settings, including Temporary foreign workers, Bail beds and Indigenous bail beds
• Adult correctional facilities

Essential workers/those who can’t work from home

Workers who can’t work from home will be vaccinated in two groups encompassing a variety of sectors. The second group will be eligible once the first group has been vaccinated:

First group of essential workers (730,000 people):

• Elementary / secondary school staff and bus drivers that transport students
• Workers responding to critical events (e.g., police, fire, compliance, funeral, special constables)
• Child care workers
• Licensed foster care workers
• Food manufacturing workers
• Agriculture and farm workers

Remaining workers to be eligible (1.4 million people)

• High-risk and critical retail workers (grocery and pharmacies)
• Remaining manufacturing workers
• Social workers (including youth justice)
• Courts and justice system workers (including probation and parole)
• Lower-risk retail workers (wholesalers, general goods)
• Transportation, warehousing and distribution
• Energy, telecom (data and voice), water and wastewater management
• Financial services
• Waste management
• Mining, oil and gas workers

Hotspots

The province is making 920,000 vaccine doses available to 13 public health units to distribute in areas with the highest death totals, hospitalizations and transmission. These are the hotspot health units who will be responsible for the distribution:

• Durham Region Health Department
• Halton Region Public Health
• City of Hamilton Public Health Services
• Niagara Region Public Health
• Ottawa Public Health
• Peel Public Health
• Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit
• Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services
• Wellington-Dufferin Guelph Public Health
• Windsor-Essex County Health Unit
• York Region Public Health
• Toronto Public Health
• Southwestern Public Health