There are now more options for people 18+ who are trying to get a vaccine in Ontario

After weeks of frustration over a serious lack of access to vaccines in Ontario, the provincial government has finally started receiving a heftier supply and accelerating its rollout.

It was announced earlier this week that the general age resrictions to book a shot through the province's central portal — which are 50 and over as of May 6 — will be lowered over the coming weeks, with anyone 18+ in Ontario hopefully able to schedule an appointment starting May 24.

Those adults in one of hundreds of designated hot spot postal codes can also now as of Monday secure a slot at a mass immunization clinic by booking through either the province or their local public health unit, but the online lineups have proven to be even worse than the in-person ones at pop-up clinics for these demographics.

Thankfully, another option is now being added to the list.

Select pharmacies, which generally up until now have been offering AstraZeneca doses to those 40 and older with a pilot to offer Pfizer at some also in the works, will have the Moderna jab available to anyone 18+ in certain hot spots.

Starting this week, the Moderna vaccine will be administered at up to 60 pharmacies in hot spots in Durham, Hamilton, Ottawa, Windsor-Essex and York #PublicHealth regions for individuals aged 18+. https://t.co/vHwhIqlDZO pic.twitter.com/bQIbiHbKV2

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) May 5, 2021

Health Minister Christine Elliott made the announcement in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, saying that up to 60 pharmacies in Durham, Hamilton, Ottawa, Windsor-Essex and York Region hot spots will begin offering the brand to all adults starting Friday, with more to join the program later in the month.

Each of the 1,400+ pharmacies provincewide that are innoculating will only offer one type in order to help streamline the process, meaning that those who are currently offering AstraZeneca or Pfizer will continue to do so.

Patients can book directly by contacting a pharmacy at which they are eligible for a shot.

Also as of Friday,  new mobile vaccine units will head out to certain businesses across York, Peel and Toronto to vaccinate all interested adults on site. This is in addition to vaccination efforts at high-risk worplaces like Amazon warehouses, Maple Leaf Foods plants, Loblaws, Walmart, Air Canada and Purolator.

Resources like Vaccine Hunters Canada and Alida's Vaccine Finder — the former of which has officialy partnered with the City of Toronto — continue to help the public discover where and when they can get vaxxed as the program pushes on.