Ontario accelerating 2nd doses for youth between 12 and 17 starting Monday
Posted July 2, 2021 11:04 am.
Last Updated July 2, 2021 11:51 am.
Ontario is moving up the timeline when it comes to second doses for all children and youth between the ages of 12 and 17.
Starting Monday, July 5 at 8 a.m., those individuals will be eligible to book an accelerated second dose appointment to receive the Pfizer vaccine, either through the provincial booking system, directly through their public health unit or through participating pharmacies.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one approved for use in youth.
Provincial health officials say they are moving up the timeline in order to provide youth with the strongest level of protection against COVID-19, including the Delta variant, ahead of a return to school this fall.
“As the province enters Step Two of our Roadmap, all eligible Ontarians have the opportunity for a two-dose summer,” said Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott in a statement. “Vaccines are the best defence against COVID-19 and variants, and I encourage everyone to get their first and second shots as soon as possible.”
The province is also continuing to target Delta variant hot spots. Mobile teams are going into community and workplace sites to administer second doses in Durham, Halton, Hamilton, Toronto, Peel, York, and Waterloo region.
The province says more than 15 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to date with more than 77 per cent of Ontarians having received one dose and more than 42 per cent having been fully vaccinated.
Last week, provincial health officials say more than one million doses were administered in four days, including a North American record 26,771 vaccines given in a single day at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
