As Ontario enters the sixth wave of the pandemic, the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) is encouraging all eligible individuals to receive their fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.
The province announced the availability of fourth COVID-19 vaccine doses for individuals aged 60 and over as well as First Nation, Inuit and Métis individuals and their non-Indigenous household members aged 18 and over as of April 7.
While the fourth dose is normally recommended five months after the third dose, eligible individuals can choose to receive it any time three months after they have received their third dose. The EOHU is therefore recommending that individuals aged 70 and over, as well as those over 60 with underlying medical conditions, receive their fourth dose any time after 3 months. This is because the protection provided by the vaccine decreases faster in older individuals than in younger ones.
