BARRIE, ONT. -- Adults in Simcoe Muskoka, ages 75 to 79, will join residents eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine sooner than initially planned.

Starting Monday, adults 75 and older qualify to pre-register for an appointment to get the shot through Ontario's online booking portal.

This age group joins high-priority frontline health-care workers, essential caregivers in seniors' facilities, all Indigenous adults, and chronic home care recipients.

Premier Doug Ford said the province advanced the timeline because Ontario's immunization effort was ahead of schedule.

According to the province, since its booking system launched on March 15, nearly 240,000 appointments have been scheduled for first and second doses of the vaccine.

In Simcoe Muskoka, more than 63,000 doses of the vaccine have gone into the arms of residents.

Additionally, over 1,800 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered to eligible residents 60 to 64 by four Family Health Teams in Simcoe Muskoka.

The health unit has more than a dozen vaccination clinics currently open, with plans for mobile and pop-up clinics.

The province said its pharmacy vaccination pilot project, which currently has more than 300 participating pharmacies, would double to around 700 over the next two weeks.

Currently, no pharmacies are offering the vaccine in Simcoe Muskoka.

Meanwhile, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit says second doses are cancelled for anyone who got their first dose before March 10.

Those appointments will be rebooked later as second doses are now being given 16 weeks after the first, as advised by the NACI.

The move will allow the province to spread first doses further, getting the vaccine into more Ontarians.