Published Thursday, April 29, 2021 7:34AM EDT
Last Updated Thursday, April 29, 2021 5:13PM EDT
Health bureaucrats told reporters on background on Thursday that the age eligibility for using the provincial booking system will drop to 55+ on Friday, 50+ on the week of May 3, 40+ on the week of May 10, 30+ by the week of May 17 and all the way down to those 18 and up by the week of May 24.
The expansion also makes eligible all essential workers and people with complex health issues, including all pregnant women and their partners, by May 10.
The province says it will receive nearly 800,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for each week in May, increasing to 940,000 per week for each week in June.
They also expect another shipment of 388,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine on May 10.
“This will allow the province and our partners to accelerate our vaccine rollout and get more shots into arms,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said later on Thursday.
A senior health official said the dramatic increase in vaccine supplies means that the province’s original target of administering at least one dose to 75 per cent of adults by June 21 is “achievable and possibly beatable.”
The plan released Thursday does not even involve using any Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses, of which 300,000 arrived in the country this week and 116,000 would be destined for Ontario if allocated based on population.