Ontario's Hospitals Are Preparing For 'Mass Vaccination Programs' Again & Here's Why

Amid the growing concerns of the new Omicron variant, Ontario's hospitals are preparing to accept more residents for vaccination appointments again.

"Ontario hospitals are moving to implement instructions to urgently re-activate mass vaccination programs," the President and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association, Anthony Dale, tweeted on Monday night.

"This will have a major impact on clinical services but there's no other choice. As we said on Saturday, this is truly a race against time."

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On Saturday the OHA released a media statement that touched on the increase of COVID-19 cases and how vaccination is the province's "best defence in [the] race against COVID-19", especially with the new Omicron variant taking hold of Ontario.

"Over the past several days, there has been a sharp increase in the number of daily new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario and a significant increase in the proportion of those cases made up by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. These are very concerning signs, particularly as the colder weather and holiday season increase the likelihood of indoor social gatherings," Dale wrote in the December 11 statement.

Ontario's first cases of the Omicron variant were first reported at the end of November, and since then there have been growing concerns of how transmissible this new variant is. Recently, nine Ontario sports teams have been tied to a COVID-19 outbreak concerning the Omicron variant with over 500 people at risk of exposure, too.

On Friday, December 10, Ontario announced new COVID-19 health measures in response to Omicron, which will tighten up the province's proof of vaccination system as well as boost its vaccine rollout for third doses in the coming months.

As of January 4, 2022, Ontarians 18-years-old and older will be eligible to start booking their appointments for booster doses.