Health units will set own rollouts

Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout could look different in each of its 34 public health units as the province receives more doses in the coming weeks, the government said Monday.

Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said Ontario is “empowering” local health units to draw up their own specific plans to distribute the vaccine, and all have been submitted to the government for approval.

Vaccines will be distributed to health units based on population, Jones said, and while they must vaccinate priority populations first, they can also determine the best way to serve the needs of their communities.

“We are ensuring through our vaccine distribution that the people most close to their communities — the public health units — are making the decisions on what is the fastest and easiest and most equitable way to ensure that people get the vaccines they need,” she said.

Ontario expects to receive a more steady supply of COVID-19 vaccines in the coming weeks as delivery issues that slowed the rollout have been resolved.

The province has so far been focused on the highest priority groups, which include residents and staff in long-term care homes.

Residents aged 80 and older, Indigenous adults, and seniors in congregate care have been identified as the next in line for the shot.

Ontario’s health minister said Monday that the rollout will need to look different in different communities.

“The rollout in Toronto will be very different from the rollout in North Bay, Thunder Bay and so on,” Christine Elliott said.

“It’s up to the local medical officers of health to fashion a plan, whether it’s going to be mass vaccination clinics, whether it’s going to be through pharmacies, whether it’s going to be through physicians’ offices.”

Opposition leader Andrea Horwath said the province needs to take a more active approach to local rollouts and ensure all health units have the necessary resources to speed distribution.

“It’s worrisome that the government looks like they’re planning to lay any problems at the feet of public health units, which is unfair,” she said. “The government really needs to have a much stronger and effective control over what’s going to happen with the vaccination.”

The province is creating an online booking system to help expand its vaccine rollout in the coming weeks.

The second phase of its distribution plan, slated for April, is to target the 80 and older group, and then residents aged 65 to 75 through primary care clinics and pharmacies.

It also includes mass vaccinations sites, led by local health units, for residents aged 16-60, and mobile sites for high-risk groups.

The rollout is then set to shift into a third phase in August, when all other remaining residents can get the shot.