Ontario plans to soon begin offering fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccine to residents aged 60 and over, the province’s health minister said on Tuesday.
Christine Elliott said the county will announce a plan Wednesday to expand its suitability for second reinforcements.
“Our medical advisers advised … to go to 60 to provide an extra level of protection to Ontario residents,” he told the county legislature.
“We will have more details on the details available tomorrow, but 60 will be the age at which people can take (fourth shots).”
The fourth installments in Ontario are already available to long-term care and nursing residents, as well as those who are immunosuppressed.
Ontario plans to open fourth-dose access to people age 60 and older following new advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. On Tuesday, the commission said provinces and counties should begin preparing plans to implement fourth shots in the coming weeks, giving priority to people aged 80 and over and long-term care residents.
Developments in Ontario vaccination plans come as COVID-19 hospitalizations increase in the province – 1,091 people were hospitalized with the virus on Tuesday, nearly 40 percent higher than a week ago.
Ontario ended mask orders in most public places two weeks ago, with the exception of public transportation and health care facilities such as hospitals and long-term care homes.
Prime Minister Doug Ford on Monday described the rise in cases as “a slight rise” in the province and Eliot reiterated that message on Tuesday.
“It simply came to our notice then. “This is something that when you open the province to the extent that we have, and with the contagion of this virus, we expected to see the numbers increase,” Eliot said.
Like Ford, he noted the addition of 3,100 new hospital beds, the county’s highly vaccinated population and access to antiviral drugs, which he said would help the county deal with the latest wave of cases.
“We have the measures we need to deal with it,” he said.
Earlier Tuesday, Eliot also said the county plans to facilitate access to an antiviral drug for COVID-19.
Immunocompromised adults and elderly patients with COVID-19 who have not been vaccinated are eligible for Paxlovid in Ontario. However, concerns have been expressed about the difficulty of accessing the drug, which is only effective if treatment is started within five days of the onset of symptoms.
Eliot said Paxlovid was originally distributed in 26 locations and now that supply has increased, the county plans to bring more locations to traffic, such as pharmacies and other locations.
He said the province also plans to expand its drug education program so people know they are eligible.
