Ontarians may be required to be vaccinated to move with 'latitude and freedom'

Ontario's Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Williams told reporters on Thursday that Ontarians may be required to be vaccinated before entering long term care homes or hospitals without PPE.

"We can't force someone to take a vaccine, that's clear... We want to make sure we have all the information they need, as well as all the safety information.

"What we can do is to say sometimes for access or to ease in getting into certain settings, if you don't have vaccinations you're not allowed into that setting without certain protection materials," said Williams.

"What may be mandatory is proof of immunization with the proper product in order to have latitude and freedom in order to allowed into long term care facilities or hospitals without wearing other forms of PPE," Williams continued.

It is still not known when Ontario will begin their immunization program, as Health Canada continues to review four different vaccine candidates.

The United Kingdom became the first country to approve the Pfizer vaccine earlier this week. Australia has already begun providing public information campaigns on how the vaccine rollout will work.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made it clear that vulnerable communities would be targeted for vaccination first, including long term care residents, Indigenous communities, and the elderly.