Fourth doses in Ontario: When should you get one?
Ontario medical experts are continuing to encourage people to get COVID-19 booster shots, but the timing can differ for people who have been previously infected with the virus.
The province has been offering fourth doses – or second boosters – since December 2021. Ontarians who are 60 and older, along with people who are immunocompromised, are currently eligible for a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“In all our vaccines, they usually come in three or fours,” Dr. Dawn Bowdish, Canada Research Chair in Aging and Immunity and a professor at McMaster University, told CTV News Toronto Monday.
“When you had kids and you were taking them to the doctor all the time, three to four doses is what it really takes to cement immune memory – this is not that unusual,” she said.
Bowdish said it’s important to keep up to date with vaccines.
THREE MONTHS AFTER INFECTION: DOCTORS
Bowdish recommends people recently previously infected with COVID-19 to wait three months after their infection for their next shot, as antibodies continue circulating in the body.
But those who’ve avoided illness should get it as soon as possible, as Ontario is still in the middle of an Omicron wave, she said.
When four months have passed since the last shot — an infection is more likely.
“Older people and people who are immunocompromised lose that protection a little faster so those are the people we want first in line to get those doses,” Bowdish said.
Getting the booster now she said will not only protect against an infection now, but added by having a less symptomatic infection that’s shorter will also prevent long COVID or other issues that could develop from an illness.
KIDS AND BOOSTERS
The Ontario government is not currently recommending that children from the ages of five to 11 receive a booster dose.
Right now, the province is recommending that children aged 12 and older receive their booster dose six months after their previous dose and that youth aged 18 and older should receive booster doses three months after their last.
It’s suggested that little ones who have been previously infected with COVID-19 apply the same three-month wait period [post-infection] to get their booster, Dr. Dina Kulik, a pediatrician and founder of Kidcrew, told CTV News Toronto. Otherwise, she recommends sticking to the schedule.
“We want children to get their boosters, adults as well if they haven’t received their boosters,” she said.
Eligible individuals can book an appointment for a fourth dose through the provincial vaccination portal, by calling the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900, directly through public health units that use their own booking systems, through Indigenous-led vaccination clinic and at participating pharmacies.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.