Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health says everything went smoothly with its online booking system for COVID-19 vaccines on Monday morning as residents 50 and older who received their second shot at least six months ago became eligible for a booster dose.
The portal opened for appointments at around 8 a.m. and a spokesperson said about 2,000 bookings were made in the first hour.
Outside of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, things weren’t so smooth with Ontario’s booking system appearing to have crashed.
The local public health unit is one of a handful in Ontario that has its own booking system instead of having residents use the provincial system.
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott says the province is working to resolve the “intermittent technical issue.”
People can also book by phone and at some pharmacies and primary care clinics.
Booster eligibility is set to open up to all adults on Jan. 4 but the province’s top doctor has said the schedule could move faster if capacity allows.
The expanded eligibility comes as Ontario’s panel of expert advisers on COVID-19 said that the Omicron variant — first detected in the province in late November — now accounts for 21 per cent of Ontario’s COVID-19 cases.
Public health reported an Omicron variant case in Guelph last week in a male aged 10 to 20 who was experiencing mild symptoms.
As of Monday, Guelph had a total of 127 active COVID-19 cases in the city, while Wellington County had 68 cases.
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