Ontarians that are 18 years of age or older can now book an appointment to book a second booster shot, or fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose, as of 8 a.m. Thursday morning.
This is as long as their last COVID-19 booster was at least five months ago
Only those that were immunocompromised, aged 60 or older, or an Indigenous adult were able to get a second booster before today.
While second boosters are available now, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore is telling residents that those who don’t have underlying health conditions may choose to wait for the fall. This is in the hope that vaccines that specifically target the Omicron variant become available.
Medical consultant to the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Unit Dr. Golden Gao says this can be a tough decision for those that are looking to get an additional booster.
“Our current recommendation is that individuals that do have underlying health conditions or are spending time with others who have underlying health conditions or are part of vulnerable populations should get a second booster,” Dr. Gao tells Quinte News.
“As far as others who don’t necessarily fit that criteria, it’s a tough decision. We know that one of the vaccine manufacturers, Moderna, has submitted a vaccine that’s bivalent so a vaccine that contains both the original COVID-19 strain as well as Omicron, though not the BA.5 but the BA.1. The issue is that we don’t know when that vaccine will be approved in Canada.”
Dr. Gao says that demand for the second booster is likely not expected to be as high as demand for the first booster.
