People who want to travel or go to the theatre will likely need a proof of COVID-19 vaccination card as the economy reopens, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park, Elliott said the government would issue a card to people as part of the province’s three-pronged vaccination plan.
“That’s going to be really important for people to have [proof] for travel purposes, perhaps for work purposes or going to theatres or cinemas and other places where people will be in closer physical contact,” she said.
While COVID-19 vaccinations will not be mandatory, people who choose not to get vaccinated may face restrictions.
“There may be some restrictions that may be placed on people that don’t have vaccines,” the minister said, adding that proof of vaccination will be “essential” for certain activities. “That will be up to the individual person to decide whether they want to receive the vaccine to be able to do these things or not.”
Elliott made the remarks a day after Premier Doug Ford announced Ontario is set to receive 2.4 million doses of the two-dose Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the first quarter of 2021, pending Health Canada approval.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that Canadians could start receiving doses this month.
Once vaccine candidates by drug companies Pfizer and Moderna receive regulatory greenlights, Ottawa will begin shipping up to 249,000 by the end of December.
The vaccines will go to 14 depots nationwide and be distributed on a per capita basis to the provinces. Ontario is expected to receive around 40 per cent of the initial shipment, Elliott said.
The Pfizer vaccine must be stored in ultra-cold freezers set to a temperature of -80 C. Elliott said more than 21 hospitals in Ontario have freezers that can store the shots, but she has yet to announce specific storage locations.
The province will undertake a public awareness campaign to boost confidence in the vaccine, with a focus on people who may be hesitant to receive the doses until they see how others react to it, Elliott added.
Ontario plans to prioritize long-term care and retirement home residents and staff, as well as health-care workers and Indigenous people, in the first phase of the vaccine rollout.
The second stage will likely begin in early April, but the government has not announced who will be next to receive doses.
