Highest-Risk Healthcare Workers and First Responders Eligible for Earlier Second Dose
Increased vaccine supply from the Province allows those with heightened transmission risks to be given earlier second dose
Due to a more steady-supply of vaccine, Ontario has updated its second dose COVID-19 vaccine eligibility for specific populations who have a heightened risk of COVID-19 infection.
Starting May 14 at 8 a.m., staff and essential caregivers associated with Long-Term Care or Retirement Homes, as well as highest-risk healthcare workers and first responders can re-schedule their second dose of vaccine earlier than the four-month schedule outlined by the Ministry of Health.
“These individuals are at an increased risk of COVID-19 infection due to the nature of the work and care they provide. It is very positive news that we will soon have the vaccine supply available to fully-protect them,” says Dr. Joyce Lock, Medical Officer of Health at Southwestern Public Health.
Eligible populations are strictly limited to:
- All hospital and acute care staff in frontline roles with COVID-19 patients and/or with a highest-risk of exposure to COVID-19, including nurses and personal support workers and those performing aerosol-generating procedures
- Critical care units
- Emergency departments and urgent care departments
- COVID-19 medical units
- Code blue teams, rapid response teams
- General internal medicine and other specialties involved in the direct care of COVID-19 positive patients
- All patient-facing healthcare workers involved in the COVID-19 response
- COVID-19 specimen collection centres (e.g. Assessment Centres, community COVID-19 testing locations)
- Teams supporting outbreak response (e.g. Infection Prevention and Control teams supporting outbreak management, inspectors in the patient environment, redeployed healthcare workers supporting outbreaks or staffing crisis in congregate living settings)
- COVID-19 vaccine clinics and mobile immunization teams
- Mobile testing teams
- COVID-19 isolation centres
- COVID-19 laboratory services
- Current members of Ontario’s Emergency Medical Assistance team who may be deployed at any time to support an emergency response
- Medical First Responders
- ORNGE
- Paramedics
- Firefighters providing medical first response as part of their regular duties
- Police and special constables providing medical first response as part of their regular duties
- Community healthcare workers serving specialized populations
- Needle exchange/syringe programs and supervised consumption and treatment services
- Indigenous health care service providers such as Aboriginal Health Access Centres, Indigenous Community Health Centres, Indigenous Interprofessional Primary Care Teams, and Indigenous Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics
- Long-Term Care and Retirement Home workers, including nurses, personal support workers, and essential caregivers
- Individuals working in Community Health Centres serving disproportionally affected communities and/or communities experiencing the highest burden of health, social, and economic impacts from COVID-19
- Critical healthcare workers in remote and hard-to-access communities (e.g. sole practitioner)
- Home and community care healthcare workers, including nurses and personal support workers caring for recipients of chronic homecare and seniors in congregate living facilities or providing hands-on care to COVID-19 patients in the community
Those eligible will be provided instructions from their workplace or care setting for how to re-schedule their second dose appointment. Appointments can only be re-scheduled by calling 226-289-3560 from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. 7 days a week. It is recommended individuals are vaccinated at the same location where they received their first dose.
Southwestern Public Health will also prepare mobile clinics for select settings, such as Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes, and specific hospital-based clinics.
Contact
Megan Cornwell
Manager, Communications | Southwestern Public Health
communications@swpublichealth.ca