As COVID-19 vaccinations efforts continue to ramp up, more and more people are becoming eligible to get their shot.
The province has announced starting Tuesday, May 11, residents in group two of the province's vaccine plan can book an appointment — this includes grocery store, restaurant and transportation workers.
But Windsor-Essex County Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed, says the group two rollout in Windsor-Essex may be slightly delayed depending on a number of factors like case numbers and vaccine availability.
Ahmed says an announcement will be made as soon as possible.
"We have to look at our numbers, our data, our ability to give out the vaccine. So it's not a guarantee that we will open it up for our group two workers. We have to look at our local situation and then we'll send a notification whether it's tomorrow or maybe a few days after about the group two," he says.
Ahmed says the goal is to stay in sync with the province, but it doesn't always work out.
"Ontario is very diverse and many regions have very different needs, different expectations and different resources to support all of those needs. I get it, everyone wants to get the vaccine as soon as possible. It's just a matter of demand and supply and we are trying to make sure that we are balancing everything," he says.
Ahmed says, while many younger people work in these industries, you must be 18 or older to receive your vaccine.
"Some of these policy decisions are there to gate the number of people who are accessing the vaccine because of the limited supply," he says. "So we'll have to look at that. We haven't heard any indication at this time that goes under 18 years of age for the more broad, general category."
Also added to the list are individuals with at risk health conditions such as dementia, diabetes and sickle cell disease.
When group two eligibility opens up in Windsor-Essex, vaccination appointments can be booked through the health unit's website at WEVax.ca.