BARRIE, ONT. -- Eligible residents in Simcoe Muskoka will soon be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine as part of a new initiative by the Ontario government.
The province announced Wednesday it is working with primary care professionals in six regions, including Simcoe Muskoka, to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine to patients aged 60 to 64.
“We are one of six public health units in Ontario. It is going to go live March the 13th and we will be shipping the vaccine through primary care providers who will call 60 to 64 year-olds to come get their vaccine,” said Doug Downey MPP for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte.
"We have a plan to get vaccines into arms as quickly as possible in order to keep people safe, and we will do that as long as we have a steady supply from the federal government," said Premier Doug Ford.
Primary caregivers will not book appointments by request; rather, they will contact eligible residents, the province stated.
Phase one of the province's vaccine rollout doesn't include the 60 to 64 age group, however, the AstraZeneca vaccine is only recommended by Health Canada for those aged 18 to 64.
The province also announced more than 300 pharmacies in Toronto, Windsor-Essex and Kingston would administer the COVID-19 vaccine to priority groups.
Click here for details about vaccine eligibility and Simcoe Muskoka's phased approach.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit's medical officer of health said he is cautiously optimistic with more doses of the vaccine expected to arrive this month.
The health unit's online vaccine booking system is no longer taking appointments, and the waitlist remains full.
"As that supply increases, production and provision to us increase, that too speeds us up to the point where we're able to move to phase two and phase three where we're making it available to everybody," said Dr. Charles Gardner on Tuesday during a Facebook Live update.
To date, the health unit reports more than 51,000 Simcoe Muskoka residents in high-priority groups have received the vaccine.
