Ontario Is Vaccinating So Many People That They're Asking For 'Thousands' More Doses

Doug Ford and Ontario's Vaccine Task Force are asking for thousands more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Retired General Rick Hillier, the head of the task force, made the request at a press conference on Tuesday where he said Ontario needs more than the "small" allocations of vaccine doses arriving in the province.

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We could use more vaccines. Thousands more. General Rick Hillier

Ontario is ramping up its vaccine distribution program, announcing today that every long-term care resident and worker in Southern Ontario will get their first dose of the vaccine by January 21.

More than 50,000 people have received their first dose of the vaccine in Ontario so far, and now the province is dipping into the freezers to give people their second dose as well.

More vaccines give the province more flexibility when it comes to having enough second doses for Ontarians, Hillier said.

Another shipment containing 47,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine is expected to arrive in Ontario this week, Ford said, but the Premier told reporters that the province would burn through those doses in a week's time.

Premier Ford said Ontario is set to become a leader in North America when it comes to vaccine distribution.

"It might take us a week, maybe a couple weeks to ramp up, but once we get the machine going in Ontario, we kick butt anywhere in the country, in North America," he added.