All Ontarians 18+ Eligible for COVID-19 Booster Appointments at Three-Month Interval

To protect Ontario’s progress in the fight against COVID-19 and safeguard the province’s hospitals and intensive care units in response to the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant, the province is rapidly accelerating its booster dose rollout by expanding eligibility to all individuals aged 18 and over, as well as shortening the interval to three months following an individual’s second dose.

Starting Monday, December 20, 2021, individuals aged 18 and over will be eligible to schedule their booster dose appointment three months (84 days) after a second dose. In addition, starting today (December 15/21), individuals aged 50 and over who have already booked their appointment at an interval of six months (168 days) can call the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre to re-book for an earlier date at the three-month interval and can change their appointment through Ontario’s booking portal starting on Monday.

To further strengthen its response to Omicron, effective December 18, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. Ontario intends to introduce a 50% capacity limit in high-risk indoor settings with a usual capacity of 1,000 or more:

  • facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities,
  • entertainment facilities such as concert venues, theatres and cinemas,
  • racing venues,
  • meeting and event spaces,
  • studio audiences in commercial film and television production;
  • museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos, science centres, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens and similar attractions; casinos,
  • bingo halls and other gaming establishments; and
  • fair, rural exhibitions, and festivals. 

To provide an additional layer of protection against COVID-19 and variants during the holiday season, starting December 15,  Ontario has launched its holiday testing blitz to offer rapid antigen screening to individuals free of charge at pop-up sites across the province, including select LCBO’s.

News Release:

English: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1001352/all-ontarians-18-eligible-for-covid-19-booster-appointments-at-three-month-interval

French: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1001352/all-ontarians-18-eligible-for-covid-19-booster-appointments-at-three-month-interval

Web Resources:

Booster Doses of COVID-19 Vaccines

Provincial Booking System

Pharmacy Finder:

Download the Verify Ontario App:

Download Your Enhanced Vaccine Certificate: https://covid19.ontariohealth.ca/

Holiday testing: https://www.ontario.ca/page/pop-up-holiday-schedule-rapid-antigen-tests

Medical exemptions: Temporary link (https://news.ontario.ca/en/backgrounder/1001329/responding-to-omicron-and-protecting-our-progress)