[GTranslate]TORONTO – Ontario’s Covid-19 Vaccination Online booking portal went live at 8am for residents aged 80+ to book their vaccine appointment. At a press briefing on March 14, Premier Ford reiterated that only people born in 1941 or earlier will be permitted to reserve their appointment.

In Ontario, people aged 80 years or older number close to 656,000. According to the Canada Public Health Agency (March 12), roughly 20% of seniors in that age group have received at least one shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. Close to 10% are now fully vaccinated for Covid-19 having completed their second dose.

The head of Ontario’s Covid-19 vaccine taskforce, Retired Gen. Rick Hillier, said during Sunday’s press conference, the online booking portal will have capacity to book 800,000 appointments through the system. This includes the mass vaccination clinics in the areas of Toronto, Peel and Durham to name a few. When the system is running “full steam”, more than 120 mass clinics around the province will be operating at a capacity to administer about 150,000 inoculations per day.

Thus far, the numbers have been less than impressive. On March 14, the province reported 41,859 doses administered. A drop from Saturday’s tally of 53,586 shots administered, the highest since the start of the vaccination campaign.

Currently, Ontario is operating at a quarter of capacity. At an average of 40,000 shots per day, it would take approximately one year to cover a population of 14.6 million with at least one dose. The vaccines in use require two doses, several weeks apart for full protection. Medical experts suggest a target of 80% of the population to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity against the virus.

As of March 14, more than 1.1 million doses have been administered. So far, 285,615 people are fully vaccinated for Covid-19, a number that represents 1.9% of the population.

The speed of the vaccination program depends on the available supply. By the end of March, the province is to receive 1.4 million vaccine doses. The Ontario government expects to expand to the other priority groups including people aged 75+ at the beginning of April.

Individuals 80 years or older, who do not have internet access and need assistance to book an appointment, a call centre will be open from Monday-Sunday, 8am-8pm. About 2,200 operators are prepared to field 10,000 calls per hour. According to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Health, the average call handle time is 10 minutes per call to help eligible residents secure their immunization appointments.

Meanwhile, additional access points, like the over 325 pharmacies across Ontario and doctor’s offices mean eligible seniors between the ages of 60-64 can now get the AstraZeneca vaccine. With the forthcoming doses in the next weeks and months ahead, will the supply keep up with demand?