- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

The government of Ontario and Grey Bruce Public Health will be using every communication method – family doctors, media, flyers – to help you know when and where you will be able to get a Covid-19 vaccine closest to your postal code.

Gen. (Ret.) Rick Hillier, head of Ontario's COVID-19 vaccine task force, gave an update this morning from Queens Park.
An on-line booking system for vaccination appointments, and a customer service phone desk, he said, will be live March 15. The first group using this system will be Ontario residents 80 and over (or people booking on their behalf) who have not already received their vaccine through long-term care or retirement homes.

“If the vaccines arrive in the numbers required, we will get them into the arms of the people of Ontario," Hillier said. Depending on the quantity of vaccines delivered to the province, the timeline will look like this.

March 15 – 80 years +
April 15 – 75+
first week of May – 70+
first week of June – 65+
first week of July – 60+

Essential non-health care workers, which Hillier said would be determined by cabinet, should not expect vaccination until May. He would not commit to any date for full vaccination of all those Ontarians who want it.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner responded:  “Since most outbreaks are taking place in vulnerable workplaces, we know that the only way we can protect our communities is with a plan for safe workplaces. We need clarity and leadership from the government to know exactly when and how Ontarians will be vaccinated.”