Article by Francesco Veronesi — Translation and Video CNMNG Staff

Booking a second dose, chaos in Ontario.
Yesterday, starting at 8 a.m., all residents of the hotspots identified by the provincial government – Toronto, Peel, Halton, Porcupine, Waterloo, York and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph – had the opportunity to access the portal to book an appointment for booster injection of the Covid vaccine. But the day was characterized by delays, inconveniences, with the website overloaded by the number of requests received.
To tell the truth, a better job could have been done also from a logistical and organizational point of view. We have been trying since 8.30 in the morning to book a second dose. After waiting for over an hour, we were able to access the first window of the portal.

From that moment, it was impossible to proceed with the booking, with attempts continued for eight hours. Amid long breaks during which we were informed that vacancies were not currently available in Toronto, vaccination centers were proposed in Hamilton, Brampton, Lindsay and other locations. But the main obstacle was not even the distance: even when trying to book the second dose in these cities, the portal stopped responding, informing us that there were no more slots available. In short, a frustrating experience lived by thousands of people residing in the hotspots.