TORONTO — All adults in Ontario will become eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine booster next month, the province's top doctor announced Friday, warning that the highly transmissible Omicron variant may become the dominant strain in mere weeks.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore also "strongly advised" people to limit the size of their holiday gatherings and ensure everyone attending is vaccinated. Ontario employers are also being urged to have their employees work from home.
Omicron was first detected in Ontario in late November, but already accounts for about 10 per cent of daily new COVID-19 cases, Moore said.
That's expected to increase to 20 per cent in the coming days before becoming the dominant strain — "as in complete strain replacement of Delta," Moore said — by the beginning of January.
"What we've seen is just a sudden escalation in multiple health units where we're seeing this activity increase," he said.
Ontarians 18 and older will be able to book a third dose starting Jan. 4, provided it's been at least six months since they received their second shot. People 50 and older are eligible starting Monday. Moore said people more at risk of severe disease are being prioritized.
Moore said the province is "reviewing the definition" of what it means to be fully vaccinated, and three doses could become the standard, depending on what the data shows about the COVID-19 vaccines' effectiveness against the Omicron variant.
He said the province is looking to information coming out of Denmark and South Africa to determine how the virus might affect Ontarians.
The expanded booster strategy is one of a suite of measures meant to protect against a surge in cases and the spread of Omicron.
"We all will have to continue to adhere to all the best practices that we put in play," Moore said.
"That's why our call to get first, second or third doses of vaccine is so important, and we need to really reflect on how we can best protect each other over the winter holidays."
The province does not have plans to close schools or extend the winter break, Moore said.
Ontario also announced it is extending its vaccine certificate program until further notice, instead of starting to lift it in mid-January as was initially planned.
Other than a new requirement, effective Dec. 20, for youth aged 12 to 17 to be vaccinated to participate in organized sports at recreational facilities, Friday's developments did not bring new or reintroduced public health restrictions, simply strong recommendations.
Premier Doug Ford has said Ontario is taking a regional approach, leaving it up to public health units to craft their own rules based on local need and case counts.
Three southwestern Ontario health units, for example, jointly recommended Thursday that everyone should limit indoor social gatherings in private dwellings to no more than 10 people, and all attendees aged 12 and older should be vaccinated.
As of Friday, 85.3 per cent of Ontarians aged five and over had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 80.8 per cent had two.
Ontario's surge in cases saw the province report 1,453 new diagnoses on Friday — the highest daily case count since May 23.
The province's proof-of-vaccination system will also be updated on Jan. 4 so that the certificate equipped with a QR code is the only version accepted.
The QR codes, rolled out a month after an initial PDF version of the certificate, are said to be much harder to fake.
The province has come under fire in recent weeks for continuing to accept the easily photoshopped PDFs.
Ontario is also moving ahead with a plan to have medical exemptions for COVID-19 shots verified by public health units and integrated into the certificate.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2021.
Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press
