Expediting third doses of COVID-19 vaccine in higher-risk retirement homes
 
Today, the Ministries of Long-Term Care, Health and for Seniors and Accessibility released this memo about expediting third doses of COVID-19 vaccines for residents in higher-risk retirement homes. Licensed retirement homes that are co-located with long-term care homes or provide dementia care services are considered higher-risk.
 
As you know, we are in a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by the Delta variant which is now the predominant strain circulating in Ontario and is more transmissible and may cause more severe disease than previous strains.
 
Given the urgency of protecting residents during the fourth wave, the Ministries are setting a target date of October 8, 2021 to provide a third dose to all LTC home and higher-risk licensed retirement home residents who wish to receive one. 
 
PHUs and homes are asked to work together to ensure that where homes have set up for self-administration, sufficient vaccine supplies are available in a timely manner and where they are not able to administer the vaccines independently, a plan for administration is developed for other homes to meet the October 8 target date. Higher-risk retirement homes are encouraged to onboard for independent vaccine administration for ongoing maintenance as part of a longer term sustainable model of vaccine administration. In addition, where LTC homes and higher-risk retirement homes do not have the capacity to administer vaccines, they are encouraged to partner with local pharmacies. If a pharmacy partnership is pursued, the home would need to work with their PHU and local pharmacy to vaccinate residents on-site.
 
Should you have questions, please contact the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility at RHInquiries@ontario.ca