Ontario is expanding eligibility for fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccine starting Thursday.
Those who are eligible include people aged 60 and older, First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, and their non-Indigenous household members over the age of 18.
The province says fourth doses are being offered at a recommended interval of five months after the initial booster shot.
“Our preference is that people book appointments to receive their fourth doses of vaccine, however we will also welcome those who are eligible on a walk-in basis,” said a spokesperson for the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU).
Appointments will be available to those who are eligible through the MLHU website beginning Thursday.
An additional vaccination clinic will be opening at White Oaks Mall on Thursday for walk-ins.
Southwestern Public Health, which serves Oxford, Elgin and St. Thomas, also announced today that they are adjusting vaccination clinics to prepare for the fourth dose eligibility.
Starting Thursday, the vaccination clinics in St. Thomas and Woodstock will welcome people eligible for their fourth dose on a first-come first-serve walk-in basis. Pop-up vaccination clinics in the health unit region will be temporarily paused between April 7 and 14 in order to increase staffing in the core vaccination clinics.
The Tillsonburg clinics on April 14 and 28 and the scheduled GO-VAXX bus clinics in the region will operate as planned.
Pharmacies and participating healthcare providers will also offer fourth doses to eligible individuals.
For clinic days and hours of operation, visit the Southwestern Public Health website.