Ontario Launches Phase Two Vaccine Rollout In “Hot Spot” Communities

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The province of Ontario will be moving into Phase Two of its COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan, with a focus on reaching individuals in “hot spot” communities where they say COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted certain neighbourhoods.

The phase will also prioritize individuals with the highest-risk health conditions in April 2021.

Officials say during Phase Two, the following groups will be eligible for vaccination:

• Older adults, between 60-75-79 years of age;
• Individuals with specific health conditions and some primary caregivers;
• People who live and work in congregate settings and some primary caregivers;
• People who live in hot spots with high rates of death, hospitalizations and transmission; and,
• Certain workers who cannot work from home

The province announced people aged 50 and older living in 13 “hot spot” communities with specific postal codes, including Windsor-Essex, are now eligible to book vaccination appointments. The local postal codes include N8X, N8Y, N9A, N9B, N9C, N8H, and N9Y.

However local vaccine booking is handled by the Windsor Essex County Health Unit and booking for the newly eligible group has not yet been announced locally.

The province also announced, starting as early as April 6th, people with the following highest-risk health conditions will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination across Ontario:

• Organ transplant recipients;
• Hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients;
• People with neurological diseases in which respiratory function may be compromised (e.g., motor neuron disease, myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis);
• Haematological malignancy diagnosed less than one year ago;
• Sickle cell disease;
• Kidney disease eGFR< 30; and
• Essential caregivers for individuals in the groups listed above.