Toronto says 31,000 appointments still available for COVID-19 booster shot

FILE - In this Oct. 5, 2021, file photo a healthcare worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

TORONTO -

The city says 31,000 appointments are still open for eligible residents to book their COVID-19 booster shot.

On Saturday, the province expanded the list of people who are eligible to receive their third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and in a news release issued Sunday, the city said 8,000 appointments were booked yesterday.

“This weekend, the City opened 40,000 third-dose COVID-19 vaccination appointments for eligible residents to book through the provincial booking system,” the news release read.

“More than 31,000 appointments are still available for eligible residents to book over the next two weeks.”

This weekend, an additional 2.8 million people in the province became eligible to book a booster shot, including frontline health-care workers, people who received two doses of the Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine or other viral vector/ adenovirus vaccines, and all Indigenous Ontarians. But the province has said people can receive a third shot no sooner than six months after their second dose, meaning that some who are now eligible will not be able to receive the shot for weeks.

According to provincial health officials, the general public can expect to receive their booster shot sometime in early 2022, based on age and other risk factors.

The province is only offering mRNA vaccines for third doses.

Officials have also signalled that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 should be approved by Health Canada sometime this month.