Halton Region accelerating second doses of COVID-19 for additional residents

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Published June 17, 2021 at 4:51 pm

Beginning Friday, June 18, those who received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on or before May 30, will be able to reschedule their second dose appointment at a shortened interval through Halton’s online booking system.

“We are pleased to be able to offer earlier second dose appointments to more residents, based our expected vaccine supply,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr.

“We continue to make great progress and have already vaccinated almost 75 per cent of our 12+ community with the first dose, and 13 per cent have received both doses. As we receive more supply from the Province, we will continue to open up more appointments and get everyone in our community fully vaccinated as quickly as possible.”

Residents are reminded that while they will have the option to select their vaccine type at the time of booking, appointments will be dependent on supply. Halton Region cannot guarantee that the same vaccine that was received for the first dose will be administered for the second dose.

While this may be a concern for some residents, Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region Medical Officer of Health, emphasized that all Health Canada-approved vaccines are safe to interchange and are effective as protection against the COVID-19 virus as well as variants of concern.

“All Health Canada approved vaccines are safe and effective and it is important to take the first vaccine available to you to gain protection from COVID-19 and variants of concern as soon as possible,” said Dr. Meghani.

“We are making steady progress and each and every person who gets fully vaccinated gets us closer to returning to normal. Continue to roll up your sleeves Halton!”

Residents who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine will continue to be able to reschedule their second dose at an interval of eight weeks or more, as per direction from the province of Ontario.

Photo: Halton Region

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