Summary
Ontario has reached another exciting milestone in our vaccine rollout: 75% of Ontarians aged 12 and over have now received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine!
Our vaccine rollout is making excellent progress, but the job is not over yet. Our government is continuing its last mile strategy to reach eligible individuals who have yet to receive a first or second dose. These latest efforts continue to make vaccines readily and conveniently available, especially in lower-vaccinated areas, and include proactively contacting individuals who have not booked their accelerated second dose appointment.
Please note: That while this is a very exciting milestone and one of the original targets set to exit the Roadmap to Reopen, out of an abundance of caution our government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, has paused the exit from the Roadmap. The Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts will continue to monitor the data to determine when it is safe to exit the Roadmap and lift the majority of public health and workplace safety measures currently in place.
Key Messages
- Vaccines are the best protection against COVID-19 and the Delta variant. While we can take pride in our immunization achievements, there is still work to be done to ensure everyone is protected.
- With over 82 per cent of eligible Ontarians aged 12 and over having received one dose of the vaccine and 75 per cent having received both doses, our government is continuing its last mile strategy to reach eligible individuals who have yet to receive a first or second dose.
- Working with our public health partners, our government is making easier and more convenient to receive the vaccine, especially in lower-vaccinated areas, by focusing on smaller, community-based and easy-to-access settings for vaccinations. This includes mobile clinics and community-based pop-ups, dedicated clinic days for families with people with disabilities, and townhall meetings in multiple languages.
- To ensure all eligible Ontarians benefit from the strong protection offered by both doses of the vaccine as soon as possible, the provincial call centre is calling Ontarians to remind them to rebook their accelerated second dose appointments. Over 110,000 second dose appointments have been successfully booked or rebooked through this initiative.
- A key component of Ontario’s last mile strategy is bringing the vaccines directly to people, where they are located. To date, Ontario’s GO-VAXX bus clinic has administered 1,100 vaccine doses, 42 per cent of which were first doses.
- Vaccines are the best protection against COVID-19 and the Delta variant. Between December 14, 2020 and August 7, 2021, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated cases accounted for the majority (99.4 per cent) of COVID-19 cases reported. Similarly, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated cases accounted for 99.2 per cent of hospitalizations and 98.8 per cent of deaths during the same time period
- If you or someone you know hasn’t been vaccinated yet, it’s not too late. If you have questions about the vaccine please reach out to your pharmacy, family doctor or primary care provider.