Ontario to expand COVID-19 booster dose eligibility

Ontario will be announcing plans to expand the COVID-19 vaccine booster dose eligibility.

The province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, will be providing an update at 2 p.m.

On Wednesday, Health Minister Christine Elliott said the province was looking at lowering age eligibility for the booster shots.

Health Canada has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for use as boosters for all adults.

Currently, only those over 70 years old and residents in certain high-risk groups are eligible for the third vaccine dose in Ontario.

The province says the booster dose must be given at least six months following the second dose.

Health officials still do not know how an additional dose will hold up against new variants of the virus such as the Omicron variant.