Ontario Expanding Booster Eligibility to More Ontarians

[Dr. Cocktail]

1 hour ago, Froufie said:

I just tried and was able to get in - but appointments only look like available nov 7-21.  My second dose was in June - thought I could already make an appointment for December but I guess not?  Might try and ask at local pharmacy about booster appointments!

You can only book your appointment for 168 days after your second dose ..... as such, it's a very limited window. December appointments are not available yet.

 

From what I can see, you can now book if your second dose was in the first few days in June.

[MamatoJack]

I guess I will be able to get a booster soon, December it looks like. I had AZ in April and Pfizer in June. I was just in Florida and had intended to get a second Pfizer while there but flights were delayed and I didn't end up doing it, wasn't worried by that point since cruises were accepting mixed doses finally. I will take the booster when I can get it though. 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

You can only book your appointment for 168 days after your second dose ..... as such, it's a very limited window. December appointments are not available yet.

 

From what I can see, you can now book if your second dose was in the first few days in June.

I am eligible Nov 13, and a bunch of sites come up, none particularly convenient for me, so I will wait until my pharmacy contacts me.

 

However, what I did find is that if you try to get to the vaccination booking from ontario.ca (the main Ontario government web page) it tells me that I am not eligible.

 

If I go in through the portal for vaccination and proof of vaccination, it knew that I had 2 AZ doses, and would have allowed me to book.

[hancogran]

We are both early 70's and just five minutes ago, we got a call from our local Public Health office asking if we'd like to book our booster.  We had our second shot (Moderna) June 11th, so we figured it would be December before we'd need it but the nurse who called from public health said it's 5 months for over 70!  OK....not going to argue but I'm glad my husband didn't "volunteer" my name.   He has his appointment next week for his booster but I'm just not ready for it yet.  We had Pfizer first ( and no ill effects after it) but they told him on the phone it's best to get the booster the same as your second shot (Moderna)  and I really was ill after that  one so I'm putting  my booster on hold right now. 🙄 

Edited November 6, 2021 by hancogran

[broberts]

2 hours ago, gnome12 said:

I am eligible Nov 13, and a bunch of sites come up, none particularly convenient for me, so I will wait until my pharmacy contacts me.

 

However, what I did find is that if you try to get to the vaccination booking from ontario.ca (the main Ontario government web page) it tells me that I am not eligible.

 

If I go in through the portal for vaccination and proof of vaccination, it knew that I had 2 AZ doses, and would have allowed me to book.

 

I got the same message. If you ignore it and proceed to book, the site¹ will let you. Unfortunately there are no nearby convenient sites for me. I'm now trying to reach the SDM closest to me, they appear to be too busy to answer the phone. All in all not a great experience. ☹️

 

 

¹ I don't think a more confusing site could be presented. Went around in circles until I realized that electing to download my certificate would also allow me to book an appointment. Web site suffers from developer tunnel vision.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by broberts

[Fouremco]

44 minutes ago, hancogran said:

We are both early 70's and just five minutes ago, we got a call from our local Public Health office asking if we'd like to book our booster.  We had our second shot (Moderna) June 11th, so we figured it would be December before we'd need it but the nurse who called from public health said it's 5 months for over 70!  OK....not going to argue but I'm glad my husband didn't "volunteer" my name.   He has his appointment next week for his booster but I'm just not ready for it yet.  We had Pfizer first ( and no ill effects after it) but they told him on the phone it's best to get the booster the same as your second shot (Moderna)  and I really was ill after that  one so I'm putting  my booster on hold right now. 🙄 

Quite surprising, as everything I've read says 6 months, not 5. 

[Froufie]

6 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Quite surprising, as everything I've read says 6 months, not 5. 

It's actually 168 days or 24 weeks from 2nd shot....

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, gnome12 said:

If I go in through the portal for vaccination and proof of vaccination, it knew that I had 2 AZ doses, and would have allowed me to book.

Thanks for the tip. The Ontario site said that I wasn't eligible, so I used the proof of vaccination portal and was able to book with no difficulty for both DW and I.  

[Fouremco]

30 minutes ago, Froufie said:

It's actually 168 days or 24 weeks from 2nd shot....

Then it's too bad that Ontario keeps saying 6 months. 

[Dr. Cocktail]

38 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Then it's too bad that Ontario keeps saying 6 months. 

That's actually NOT what Ontario is saying.

 

This is from the Official Provincial Guidelines:

 

https://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/publichealth/coronavirus/docs/vaccine/COVID-19_vaccine_third_dose_recommendations.pdf

 

The actual Guidance is: Recommendation: At this time a booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine will be offered for the following groups: • All Ontarians aged 70 and older The recommended interval for individuals aged 70+ is ≥6 months (168 days) after the second dose.

 

It's my own theory that someone in the M of H screwed up and reversed the numbers - 168 instead of 186 which is much closer to 6 months.

[muffin]

BC is saying 6 months for over 70’s too, but is acting on 5 months.  DH and I got second shot June 1. DH got booster yesterday. I am waiting the extra month, not showing on website yet. All three were moderna for him. 

[Fouremco]

25 minutes ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

That's actually NOT what Ontario is saying.

 

This is from the Official Provincial Guidelines:

 

https://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/publichealth/coronavirus/docs/vaccine/COVID-19_vaccine_third_dose_recommendations.pdf

 

The actual Guidance is: Recommendation: At this time a booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine will be offered for the following groups: • All Ontarians aged 70 and older The recommended interval for individuals aged 70+ is ≥6 months (168 days) after the second dose.

 

It's my own theory that someone in the M of H screwed up and reversed the numbers - 168 instead of 186 which is much closer to 6 months.

That's actually EXACTLY what Ontario is saying.

 

They've be using the 6 months figure consistently when interviewed the TV and print media. They have used that figure on their websites. Here's a press release from just 3 days ago, in which they state:

 

Based on the recommendation of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and in alignment with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization’s (NACI) recent recommendation, the province will begin offering booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the following vulnerable populations if at least six months have passed since their last dose:

• Individuals aged 70 and over (born in 1951 or earlier);
• Health care workers and designated essential caregivers in congregate settings (including long-term care home and retirement home staff and designated caregivers);
• Individuals who received a complete series of a viral vector vaccine (two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine or one dose of the Janssen vaccine); and
• First Nation, Inuit and Métis adults and their non-Indigenous household members.

   https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1001100/ontario-expanding-booster-eligibility-to-more-ontarians

 

The document you cite echos the 6 month figure ("≥6 months"), even if it miscalculates the number of days in a 6 month period or, as you suggest, reversed a couple of digits. More importantly, the document makes multiple references to the NACI, whose recommendations for all key populations are based on a period of 6 months or greater, and formed the basis for Ontario's decision on timing:

 

[NACI] recommends that a booster dose of an authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccine should be offered ≥6 months after completion of a primary COVID-19 vaccine series

 

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/immunization/national-advisory-committee-on-immunization-naci/recommendations-use-covid-19-vaccines/statement-guidance-booster-doses/statement-guidance-booster-doses.pdf

 

 

[loupana]

Just did a mock booking for my in-laws, both over 70 and are 5 months from their second Pfizer shot and they are both eligible to book now. My wife is going to call and get them into the same time slot this week.

[Crusenjohn]

I used an add a number of days to date calendar, ( that's how I googled it), and found DH and I will eligible on December 5. Our pharmacist will take proper care of us. That will help us feel safer this winter in S.C. I would have been miserable spending another winter in Kingston. I keep hoping that both Russia and GB are able to get their latest numbers under control by APRIL or we will need to rethink our upcoming cruises. We have til mid FEBRUARY  for final payment.

[Barwick Cruiser]

A bit of a warning to those who are able to book but short of six months. My brother in law had an appt for today for his booster (he’s over 70) and was refused when he arrived as he was a week short of six months. My sister had booked my Dad in for this Tuesday (he’s 95!!) and has now canceled it since he got his second shot mid May and doesn’t want to take him and be sent back as well. She’ll  rebook him for the end of this month. She was also told that you can only book up to ten days ahead. They are in York Region…Richmond Hill and Aurora.  I’m not in a rush for myself since I’m pretty healthy and have my two initial shots but really want my Dad done as soon as possible for obvious reasons. 

[gnome12]

19 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

A bit of a warning to those who are able to book but short of six months. My brother in law had an appt for today for his booster (he’s over 70) and was refused when he arrived as he was a week short of six months. My sister had booked my Dad in for this Tuesday (he’s 95!!) and has now canceled it since he got his second shot mid May and doesn’t want to take him and be sent back as well. She’ll  rebook him for the end of this month. She was also told that you can only book up to ten days ahead. They are in York Region…Richmond Hill and Aurora.  I’m not in a rush for myself since I’m pretty healthy and have my two initial shots but really want my Dad done as soon as possible for obvious reasons. 

How short of 6 months was he? I'm going by the 168 days (24 weeks), and my appointment is 6 days after that, but still short of 6 months. I had to enter the dates of both my vaccinations before I booked.

[hancogran]

25 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

A bit of a warning to those who are able to book but short of six months. My brother in law had an appt for today for his booster (he’s over 70) and was refused when he arrived as he was a week short of six months. My sister had booked my Dad in for this Tuesday (he’s 95!!) and has now canceled it since he got his second shot mid May and doesn’t want to take him and be sent back as well. She’ll  rebook him for the end of this month. She was also told that you can only book up to ten days ahead. They are in York Region…Richmond Hill and Aurora.  I’m not in a rush for myself since I’m pretty healthy and have my two initial shots but really want my Dad done as soon as possible for obvious reasons. 

Thanks for the heads up. As I posted earlier, we were called by our local public health yesterday and my husband is scheduled for a Nov. 15 booster.  I counted the days after the second shot and it looks like 157.  Public Health actually told him that the time for the  booster was ok (approx, 5 months).  He's going to call them back tomorrow and probably change the appointment to early January or something.  So confusing.. I am also healthy with my two shots so I'll put this on hold for a few months.

[Barwick Cruiser]

16 minutes ago, hancogran said:

Thanks for the heads up. As I posted earlier, we were called by our local public health yesterday and my husband is scheduled for a Nov. 15 booster.  I counted the days after the second shot and it looks like 157.  Public Health actually told him that the time for the  booster was ok (approx, 5 months).  He's going to call them back tomorrow and probably change the appointment to early January or something.  So confusing.. I am also healthy with my two shots so I'll put this on hold for a few months.

Perhaps different health units are using different protocols? My Brother-in-law was less than a week from six months and got turned away. I have no idea what he entered to get the initial appointment but maybe that was a glitch in the system when it was launched on Saturday? Nothing would surprise me at this point lol

[Fouremco]

40 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

Perhaps different health units are using different protocols? My Brother-in-law was less than a week from six months and got turned away. I have no idea what he entered to get the initial appointment but maybe that was a glitch in the system when it was launched on Saturday? Nothing would surprise me at this point lol

I suspect that the Ontario booking system has no interval checker built into the reservations module, so when you select a location and date for your booster shot, it doesn't verify a 6-month delay. That might explain why the initial page will declare you ineligible if the the time lapsed since your second shot isn't sufficient, but if you get to the actual reservation pages via the loophole discussed previously, no verification is made.

[tafawke]

On 11/4/2021 at 11:18 AM, hancogran said:

We're also due for ours in December...after having a Pfizer shot first in March,  then Moderna in June.

 

I'm a bit hesitant about this booster since after getting my Moderna shot in June, I was really unwell for a whole day and don't really want to go through that again. (My husband kept checking on me to see if I was breathing! lol 🤣)  With the Pfizer shot, the only side effect was a tenderness at the injection site, which is to be expected.   Anybody else have two different vaccines with such different side effects?  I'm thinking of going back to Pfizer if I do get the booster.

I had Pfizer and then Moderna and had a similar reaction as you... Pfizer I was tired and a bit sore, Moderna I was knocked off my feet for a day or two... I agree - Pfizer for the booster if and when that happens... 

[hancogran]

25 minutes ago, tafawke said:

Pfizer for the booster if and when that happens... 

Most definitely--same here ! 👍

[thon]

My DW and I are both pre-registered at Rexall for our booster.  My wife spoke to them (local Recall) yesterday and was told that we can’t get the booster until 6 months after our 2nd shot.  So we’re both due at differing times in December which is fine for us.  She was told to just call them after Dec 1 and they will fit us both into their schedule at the appropriate time since we are already registered  in their system.  So we’ll see how this goes.

 

[cruiseamm]

My son had double Moderna with only sore arm.

Husband and I had double AZ only sore arm (2nd shot May 10). I just got the Moderna booster, sore arm on day 1. After a quick google I chose Moderna, it seems to have better/longer efficacy (contains more active ingredient per dose) and less side effects.  Even at half dose the Moderna booster has more active ingredient.  I now have the super cocktail. 😜

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YhMlZczq4Ns