Covid vaccine rollout for 75 and older crowd begins Monday
Some doctors in Simcoe Muskoka will continue to contact certain patients for AstraZeneca jab
Trying to keep track of who is up next for a COVID-19 vaccine is like trying to track down a needle in a haystack.
Beginning Monday, residents aged 75 and older can use the online provincial booking portal and schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment. The other option is to call 1-888-999-6488.
If you or your caregiver is scheduling a shot, make sure you have provincial health card information, as well as your postal code, birth date and email address or phone number. Once that information is taken care of, you will be given a date for a jab and where to attend to be immunized.
The online portal is also taking appointments for priority groups such as certain health care workers, seniors in congregate care, and Indigenous adults.
Also on Monday, some family doctors in six regions including Simcoe Muskoka will be contacting their patients aged 60 and up to book an appointment for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Those doctors started giving the shot last week to patients in the 60 to 64 age bracket.
New guidelines from the National Advisory Committee last Tuesday said the AstraZeneca shot could be used on those 65 and older, citing UK studies that found there was significant signs of effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19, and fewer hospitalizations due to COVID-19 among seniors.
