Vaccinating Ontario seniors in long term care could hinge on the the Moderna vaccine and if approved, could arrive in Canada by the end of December. Ontario Vaccine Task Force chair Rick Hillier says it doesn’t require the same special handling as the Pfizer vaccine, now being administered so some health care workers in the province.

“The Moderna is going to be our first go-to vaccine to allow us to go inside the long term care and we may receive some greater flexibility of the Pfizer vaccine in the weeks to come,” said Hillier. “It’ll go to homes in greatest need, in hot zones, and lock down zones, those that have had the COVID-19 tragedy visited upon them and perhaps those homes where the province has had to intervene to assist them,” added Hillier.

Ontario expects to receive between 30,000 and 85,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine after it is approved by the federal regulator.

As of noon Tuesday, 142 frontline healthcare workers have been vaccinated in Ontario.

Premier Doug Ford says a total of about 650 nursing home and health care workers will be vaccinated by days end Wednesday at University Health Network. Thousands can be vaccinated per day once the vaccination sites are up and running across the province.