People in Delta hot spots eligible to move up their second vaccine dose

People in Hamilton and other designated hot spots for the Delta COVID-19 variant are eligible to book earlier second vaccine doses starting Wednesday.

Residents who received a first dose of an mRNA vaccine on or before May 30 can move up their second shots. The provincial vaccine booking portal will open to those eligible at 8 a.m.

Hamilton, Toronto, Peel, Porcupine, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, Waterloo and York, Simcoe-Muskoka and Durham are considered hot spots for the more infectious variant of COVID-19.

Halton, which is also considered a Delta hop spot, allowed residents who received their first shot on or before May 30 to move up their second shot on Friday.

The region has its own vaccine booking system.

The province says sometime next week, all adults who received a first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna’s product can book a second appointment as soon as 28 days after their initial shot.

RELATED STORY: Doctors say mixing vaccines brands is not a new practice

Second doses were initially booked four months after the first in Ontario but the province is shortening that timeline as more vaccine is expected.