All Ontarians 18 and over can make an appointment as of Monday to receive a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
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“The Omicron variant is the most contagious variant we’ve seen so far. It is on the verge of becoming the dominant variant in Ontario. In fact, it may already be, ”Premier Doug Ford said in a press briefing on Wednesday, announcing the news.
To date, only people 50 years of age and over and people with immunosuppression could receive a third dose in Ontario.
The measure is announced as the province faces a rapid rise in the number of infections, for a total of 1,808 cases and nine deaths announced on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, warned that the Omicron variant is set to supplant the Delta variant in the province within days.
“The data suggest that each case of Omicron infects four to eight times more individuals than the Delta variant,” he said at a press briefing.
Ontario science table director Dr Peter Juni said in an interview with CTV News on Wednesday that Ontario could have 10,000 cases per day by the end of the month of december.