Torontonians over age 40 eligible for vaccination at city clinics

Hundreds of thousands of Torontonians ages 40 to 49 become eligible to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at city-run clinics starting at 8 a.m. Thursday.

The expansion of who can make vaccine appointments at the nine clinics across the city in the provincial booking system adds more than 300,000 residents to a list that was, after a series of adjustments, open citywide to those ages 50 and older.

Torontonians can book via the city website by clicking the blue button at toronto.ca/home/covid-19/ or by calling the provincial vaccine booking line 1-833943-3900.

City clinics are part of the biggest vaccination effort in Toronto history, including hospitals and community health organizations that have lowered their vaccination eligibility age to 18 in 53 postal codes designated as virus hot spots.

An additional 50,000 appointments are being added for Monday to May 23 to accommodate an expected surge in bookings at the city clinics, which, unlike mobile and popup vaccination operations, require reserving beforehand.

Mayor John Tory told a Wednesday briefing that Toronto has become the first Canadian city with 1.5 million vaccine doses administered. More than half of adult Torontonians have had a first dose but less than 4 per cent are fully vaccinated.