OTTAWA -- Adults 18 and older in three Ottawa neighbourhoods will be eligible to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment through the provincial system starting Monday.
As of 8 a.m. on Monday, residents of Ottawa whose postal codes start with K1T, K1V, or K2V became eligible to schedule an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccine on the province's online booking portal or by calling the Provincial Vaccine Booking Line number at 1-833-943-3900.
The three forward sortation areas in Ottawa are among 114 so-called hot-spots identified across Ontario that seeing an expanded vaccine rollout as of Monday.
“With additional supply our government is increasing access to the COVID-19 vaccines in the communities hardest hit by COVID-19,” said Health Minister Christine Elliott, in a release Sunday. “Continuing to focus on getting vaccines in the arms of those most at risk will help to stop the spread of COVID-19 in these communities, protect our hospital capacity and save lives. I continue to urge everyone to sign up to receive the vaccine as soon as it’s your turn.”
Ottawa Public Health has said it also intends to expand the rollout of vaccines in its 21 identified hot spot neighbourhoods this week. More details are expected in the coming days.
Health Canada is forecasting 3.1 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be shipped to Ontario in the month of May. Ontario is also slated to get 388,100 doses of the Moderna vaccine this month.
ELIGIBILITY EXPANDS TO 50+ AND ESSENTIAL WORKERS THURSDAY
The province is gradually lowering the age at which residents become eligible for vaccines throughout the month. Anyone in Ontario 50 and older will be eligible to book a vaccine appointment through the provincial system as of 8 a.m. Thursday, May 6. Also eligible Thursday are people with high-risk health conditions, people in the first group of workers who cannot work from home, such as education workers, and First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals in addition to the other channels previously available to book their appointment.
The eligibility is forecast to open to all adults in Ontario 18 and older by the week of May 24.
As of Friday, 37 per cent of all eligible Ottawa residents 16 and older had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Ottawa Public Health.
A map showing the Forward Sortation Areas of (left to right) K2V, K1V and K1T in Ottawa. (Credit: www.canadapost.ca)
High risk conditions:
- Obesity (BMI over 40)
- Other treatments causing immunosuppression (for example, chemotherapy, immunity-weakening medications)
- Intellectual or developmental disabilities (for example, Down Syndrome)
- One essential caregiver for individuals with the conditions in this category who require regular and sustained assistance with personal care or activities of daily living
People who cannot work from home: Group 1
- Remaining elementary and secondary school workers (including educators, custodial, school bus drivers, administrative staff)
- Workers responding to critical events (including police, fire, special constables, children’s aid society workers, emergency management, critical infrastructure restoration workers)
- Enforcement, inspection and compliance roles (including by-law enforcement, building inspectors, food inspectors, animal welfare inspectors, border inspection officers, labour inspectors, WSIB field workers)
- Remaining individuals working in licensed childcare settings (including all licensees, employees and students on educational placements who interact directly with children in licensed childcare centres and in authorized recreation and skill building programs, licensed home child care and in-home service providers, employees of home child care agencies)
- Foster care agenda workers (including customary care providers)
- Food manufacturing and distribution workers
- Agriculture and farm workers
- Funeral, crematorium and cemetery workers
