Manitoba expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to anyone 30 and up
Eligible Manitobans can now book appointments for vaccination at supersites, pop-up clinics
Manitobans 30 and older are eligible for vaccination at supersites and pop-up clinics as of Monday.
All those in the province that qualify may book an appointment beginning at 11:45 a.m. through the provincial website.
Those 30 and up with certain health conditions have been eligible for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine at doctors' offices and pharmacies for over a week. Supersites and pop-up clinics administer Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots.
The latest expanded eligibility comes as Manitoba continues to chart significant case increases day over day, with more 1,000 COVID-19 cases announced on the weekend alone. In the past two weeks, hospitalizations have risen to worrying levels.
All schools in Winnipeg and Brandon, and some outside those cities, will also shift to remote learning for the rest of the month starting Wednesday as cases in schools climb.
The provincial vaccine task force has ramped up immunizations in the past several weeks. Last week, officials said they would begin expanding age eligibility in roughly five-year increments on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays moving forward.
The province unexpectedly expedited rollout on the weekend by dropping the age eligibility from 40 and up to 35 and up.
In recent weeks, all Indigenous adults have become eligible, and the province opened clinics to vaccinate urban Indigenous populations and people experiencing homelessness.
The province has also extended eligibility to adults living in a number of high-risk areas. Workers 18 and up in select public-facing jobs in those hot spots are also eligible, even if they live elsewhere.
Manitoba officials hope to expand eligibility to all Manitobans 12 and up within the next two weeks due to an anticipated boost in vaccination shipments from the federal government.
So far, 44 per cent of adults in the province have received at least one dose.
WATCH | Full news conference on COVID-19 | May 10, 2021:
