It is hardly a surprise that there were glitches with Ontario’s mass vaccination booking portal, which went live for those 80 years of age and older on Monday morning.
Ontario has entered the third wave of COVID-19, the province’s hospital association says.
In a tweet published on Monday, the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) said that variants of concern are steeply rising and the number of patients in intensive care is trending upwards.
Public health officials have reported nearly 27,900 COVID-19 cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, including nearly 26,000 resolved cases.
Elsewhere in eastern Ontario, 134 people have died of COVID-19 and 167 people have died in western Quebec.
Toronto to open 3 more mass COVID-19 vaccination clinics by April 5
Toronto says it will have three more mass COVID-19 vaccination clinics open by April 5.
That will bring the total number of operating mass immunization sites to six.
The retired military general who was chosen to lead Ontario’s vaccine roll-out will complete his duties at the end of the month, leaving the job vacant as millions of residents still wait for their turn to roll up their sleeves.
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé announced earlier this month that some 350 pharmacies in the Montreal area will start taking appointments through the province’s vaccine booking portal Monday, with shots to begin on March 22. He said the program will eventually expand to more than 1,400 pharmacies across the province that will administer about two million doses.
Across the region
According to Renfrew County health officials, a resident at Miramichi Lodge, a long-term care home in Pembroke, Ont., has died. It’s the fourth death in the region linked to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
The Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit, which has had a spike in cases in recent weeks and moved to the yellow zone on Monday, has had 36 new cases since its last update on Friday.
Starting on Monday, residents of the District of Thunder Bay will be able to start booking COVID-19 appointments online via the provincial booking portal.
The site, which can be found at www.ontario.ca/bookvaccine, is expected to be online at 8 a.m.
Anyone born in 1941 or earlier, regardless if they’ve turned 80 yet or not, is eligible to book an appointment.