It appears we could all be getting our COVID-19 vaccinations sooner than the original plan.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says with the recent approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine and new guidelines for administering second doses, Ontario is recalibrating its timeline for the rollout and may be able to get more people their first dose sooner than September.

“We were looking at the end of the Summer, perhaps into September, but I think it’s fair to say that we will be able to shorten that timeline given the new volumes of vaccines coming in with AstraZeneca, and the extension of the first and second doses for both Pfizer/Moderna, meaning we could get more first doses into more arms,” Elliott explained.

The updated vaccine plan will reportedly give priority to age-plus-risk and to seniors in hot spot regions like Toronto and Peel.

We’ve also learned 380 pharmacies in the Toronto, Kingston and Windsor-Essex will begin delivering AstraZeneca COVID vaccinations next week in a pilot project.

The pharmacies will use their own booking systems to make appointments, likely starting with those between the ages of 60 and 64.