Until the flow of COVID-19 vaccine increases, the number of appointments to eligible residents — including those in the province's 13 designated hotspots — will be limited, according to a York Region spokesperson.
York Region anticipates receiving about 22,000 doses every week over the next four weeks, director of corporate communications Patrick Casey said.
"However, the region has capacity to administer 42,000 weekly doses at clinics currently in operation over the same time period," Casey added.
Following the province's announcement Tuesday of additional eligibility for the second phase of its vaccine rollout, nearly 14,000 appointments were booked online at York Region Public Health clinics from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Casey said.
A limited number of appointments for all eligible priority groups remain available through to Monday, April 12 at the public health clinics, including those in Georgina, Richmond Hill, Markham and Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan.
An additional supply of 70,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be delivered to pharmacies in York Region over the next four weeks for residents age 55 and older, he said.
York Region opened appointment bookings yesterday to Vaughan and Markham residents aged 45 to 59 (born 1962 to 1976) in five high-priority communities or hotspots.
Those neighbourhoods, identified by postal code, have the highest historic and ongoing rates of transmission, hospitalization and death, Casey said.
While the province identified additional hotspots in the region for targeted vaccine distribution, York Region doesn't currently have the supply needed to expand distribution to those residents, while continuing to administer doses to other eligible priority groups, Casey said.
You must live, not work, in one of the postal codes areas below — proof of address will be required at the vaccination clinics — and be aged 45 to 59 to book an appointment now:
- L4L, L6A, L4K, L4J in Vaughan
- L3S in Markham
When vaccine supplies increase, Casey said York Region intends to expand to the remaining identified hotspots:
- L0J, L4H in Vaughan
- L4B, L4E in Richmond Hill
- L3T, L6B, L6C, L6E in Markham
As of April 7, a total of 214,872 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to York Region residents.
This includes:
- 40,872 doses to people age 80+, representing 83.4 per cent of residents in this age bracket
- 26,632 doses to people age 75-79, representing 78.3 per cent of residents in this age bracket
- 34,975 doses to people age 70-74, representing 66 per cent of residents in this age bracket
- 23,367 doses to people age 65-69, representing 36.5 per cent of residents in this age bracket
Booking eligibility has been extended to individuals aged 60 and over at the clinic at Cornell Community Centre in Markham, which is the only York Region clinic operating on the provincial booking system.
