More people will be able to pick up that third COVID-19 vaccine shot soon.

Beginning Dec. 13, 2021 at 8 a.m., people aged 50 and older will be eligible to schedule their booster dose appointments through the COVID-19 vaccine portal. Alternatives include calling the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre, through Indigenous-led vaccination clinics, or select pharmacies and primary care settings.

Appointments will be booked for approximately six months after the individual’s second dose. Along with this, effective immediately people receiving dialysis (hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis) are eligible for their booster dose if it has been 56 days since their second dose.

Thunder Bay’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janet DeMille says that vaccination is the key to getting out of the pandemic.

“The public health measures that we put in place, the screening, masking, physical distancing is all sort of protective against the spread of COVID,” explains Dr. DeMille. “Because we are all interacting a little more, it gives the virus an opportunity to spread and it is important to protect against the virus, and vaccine is the number one way of doing that.”

Beginning in January, Ontario will further expand eligibility for booster doses based on age and risk, with an interval of six to eight months from the second dose.

A statement was provided by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore in a press release announcing the booster expansion:

“If you are eligible for a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, please book your appointment as soon as you can to provide yourself with an extra layer of protection,” said Dr. Moore. “If you have not yet received the vaccine, please do so today. This includes vaccinations for children aged five to 11. Achieving the highest vaccination rates possible remains our best tool to protect us, reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, and fight the significant surge of new cases and the new Omicron variant.”