TORONTO -- Residents, staff and essential caregivers at all 87 of Toronto’s long-term care homes have now had the opportunity to receive their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, one week ahead of schedule.
The Ontario government had set a goal of vaccinating all residents, health-care workers and essential caregivers in long-term care homes in Toronto, Peel, York and Windsor-Essex by Jan. 21.
In a message posted to Twitter on Friday morning, Health Minister Christine Elliott confirmed that vaccines have now been administered at every long-term care home in Toronto.
Efforts, however, are still ongoing to complete vaccinations in long-term care homes in Ontario’s other COVID-19 hot spots.
“Another exciting milestone in our vaccine rollout: all long-term care homes in Toronto have been vaccinated, almost a week earlier than our goal of January 21st. Thank you to #TeamVaccine for expediting this important work to protect our most vulnerable and frontline heroes,” Elliott wrote.
The province has administered more than 174,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday.
They hope to have given at least a first dose of the vaccine to every long-term care resident and staff member by Feb. 15.
It should be noted that the province will still have to administer second doses to the vast majority of long-term care residents and staff in Toronto.