In response to this announcement, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath called on Premier Ford to implement a faster strategy for vaccine rollout and a schedule for vaccinations within long-term care, province-wide.

During a meeting this afternoon with Ontario’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force, Premier Ford acknowledged the slow initial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Ontario, but emphasized his hope that the province would soon be a leader in vaccines administered per capita.

Further Details

Acceleration of COVID-19 Vaccinations in Long-Term Care

This afternoon, Ontario announced its intent to vaccinate all residents, health care workers, and essential caregivers in priority region long-term care homes by January 21, 2021. Priority regions include the public health units of Toronto, Peel, York, and Windsor-Essex, which have the highest cumulative rates of COVID-19 per 100,000 population in Ontario.

Additional details were provided today during a technical briefing. Key updates include:

• Frontline health care workers who participated in the Pfizer pilot program in Toronto and Ottawa are receiving their second doses of the vaccine this week.
• 44 vaccine sites have been established to date.
• Over 50,000 people have been administered the Pfizer vaccine, including approximately 26,000 health care workers in long-term care and retirement homes, 20,000 other health care workers, and 1,000 residents.
• Nearly 3,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine were administered across 24 long-term care homes between December 31, 2020 and January 3, 2021. More than 4,000 additional doses are planned to be administered across 26 long-term care homes between January 4 and January 6.
• Approximately 2 million vaccine doses are expected to arrive throughout the winter during Phase One of Ontario’s vaccine implementation plan.