SIMCOE MUSKOKA – Pre-registration for select eligible groups as per the province’s Phase 1 roll out plan is now open on the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit’s (SMDHU) website.

Eligible groups who can pre-register include highest, very high and high priority frontline health care workers in accordance with the Ministry of Health’s Guidance on Health Care Worker Prioritization; essential caregivers of residents in long-term care and retirement homes; all Indigenous adults and their household members; and adult recipients of chronic home care. To pre-register, or for more information about COVID-19 and the vaccine roll out visit www.smdhu.org.

Pre-registration helps us collect information about appointments quickly and easily as vaccine supply becomes available. Once a person has pre-registered on the SMDHU website, they will be placed in the queue to receive a vaccine appointment. When an appointment is available, the person will be sent an email invitation from the province with a booking code to book their appointment on the provincial booking system. Note that this does not happen immediately and may take days or weeks depending on vaccine supply and demand for appointments. All appointment booking in Simcoe Muskoka will be done through the online provincial system.

Please note that adults 80 years of age and older (born anytime in 1941 or prior) are also eligible at this time; however, they cannot pre-register via SMDHU’s website. They will be able to book immunization appointments directly via the online provincial booking system or by telephone contact to provincial customer service desk being launched by the province next week. The details on this booking process will be communicated by the province as their booking process becomes available.

“More than 52,000 doses of vaccine have already been administered in Simcoe Muskoka, offering protection to those most vulnerable, including the residents of all of our long-term care facilities and retirement homes, as well as many health care workers, older adults, and Indigenous older adults” said Dr. Charles Gardner, SMDHU’s medical officer of health. “ We are now transitioning into the final chapter of Phase 1, another important step in bringing the pandemic under control.”

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