Toronto residents 80 and older can now book COVID-19 vaccine appointments. Here's how

Toronto residents aged 80 and older can nowbook an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine at one the city's mass immunization clinics.

The city has retained early access to the province's online booking portal, which is not set tolaunch until Monday.

About 133,000 spots are availablethrough Toronto's COVID-19 site. The appointments are for March 17 through April 11 at one of three mass vaccination clinics that will be operational next week.

If you want to make an appointment, or assist someone who will be 80 or older in 2021 to do so, follow these steps:

• Visitwww.toronto.ca/covid-19and click on the dark blue "register" button.
• This brings you to the province's online booking system where you will have to input the registrant's provincial health card, date of birth, postal code and email and/or mobile phone number.
• You can then schedule afirst vaccination appointment, and an appointment to receive a second dose.

Appointments were initially going to be limited to three mass immunization clinics, butthree additional city-run clinics are also being brought online, with each of the six clinics operating seven days per week, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Pharmacy vaccination pilot expanding

Once the province's online portal becomes available next week, Ontarians will also be able to book appointments by phone through a central call centre.

Meanwhile, a pilot project offering COVID-19 vaccines in pharmacies is expanding more broadly today.

Some pharmacies in Toronto, Windsor and Kingston health units have already started offering AstraZeneca vaccines to residents between the ages of 60 to 64.

Justin Bates of the Ontario Pharmacists' Association says additional shots were to arrive yesterday. That means vaccinations are set to begin at more sites today.

He says interest in the pilot has been overwhelming.

Individual pharmacies are using their own booking systems and Bates says people should check online before calling due to high call volumes.

Stick to your own region, Ministry says

The program is also drawing interest from outside the three participating cities prompting concern from the Ministry of Health.

At least one pharmacist in Windsorsaid he would welcome residents from outside the area to book vaccination appointments, if they metthe age criteria, CBC Windsor recently reported.

In a since-deleted tweet, Aurora, Ont. Mayor Tom Mrakassuggested his region's residents try booking vaccine appointments at "any pharmacy location in Toronto" that is offering the shots, and shared the link to book.

But Ministry officials are strongly encouraging pharmacies administering these doses to ensure residents live in their public health unit with broader availability expected to ramp up as the supply increases.

"Ontarians shouldget their vaccination within their public health region to help manage vaccine allocations," said spokesperson Lindsay Davidson in a statement.