First doses of bivalent vaccine arrive in Ontario: health minister

The minister of health in Ontario says the province has received its first shipment of the recently-approved COVID-19 vaccine that protects against the Omicron variant.

Sylvia Jones says long-term care residents and health-care workers will receive the doses first.

Health Canada said last week it has approved the new shot from Moderna, which targets both the original strain of the novel coronavirus and the original Omicron variant.

Jones says further details about a wider rollout will be coming soon.

She said last week the province has been collaborating with public health units to ensure doses are ready to be administered once they receive them from the federal government.

Health Canada has said there will be enough supply of the shots – called bivalent vaccines – for all Canadians 18 and older to get a dose this fall and winter.