Some public health units won’t use Ontario booking portal after March 15 launch

Some Ontario public health units will continue to use their own vaccination booking systems even after a provincial portal becomes available next week.

Solicitor General Sylvia Jones says approximately six units, including Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, will stick with their own systems.

She says the rest will merge with the province’s online portal or use a combination of both systems.

Several public health units have started using their own booking systems to make vaccination appointments for eligible residents in recent weeks in the absence of a provincial system.

“They already have websites that are up and running and are serving their own purposes,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said. “I think the fact that we will have administered a million vaccines by the end of this week speaks for itself about the success.”

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Elliott reiterated Tuesday that the government had not yet launched its site because it wanted to ensure it wouldn’t crash once it was live.

The news comes as the province prepares to expand its vaccine rollout into pharmacies in three regions on Friday – a pilot project that’s taking appointments for people aged 60 to 64.

Canada received 500,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca this week.

Liberal Health Critic John Fraser said the shifting messaging about the booking system was confusing.

He also expressed doubts that the pharmacy pilot would move fast enough to distribute all their Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines before the shots expire, noting that the pharmacies involved hadn’t been named publicly as of Tuesday morning.

“I’m not confident,” he said. “It would be good if they could explain mathematically how they’re going to achieve that even in the broadest sense.”

On Monday, Mayor John Tory announced Toronto has enough vaccine supply to open three mass immunization clinics starting March 17.

The Toronto clinics will operate seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and details on clinic operations, including how to book, will be available in the coming days.

A combination of Moderna and Pfizer vaccine will roll out to City-run and hospital partner clinics as follows:

• Week of March 15 – 17,500 dose
• Week of March 22 – 98,920 doses
• Week of March 29 – 174,200 dose
• Week of April 5 – 80,730 doses
• Week of April 12 – 80,730 doses

Tory said the clinics will open early to vaccinate residents who are over the age of 80.

Elliott says Ontario is expected to receive 190,000 AstraZeneca vaccines today, which are slated for use in the pharmacy pilot.