It’s expected 8.5 million people in Ontario will be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of June.

Retired General Rick Hillier, the head of Ontario’s vaccine distribution task force, provided an update Tuesday morning on the province’s three-phase vaccination plan.

Phase 1 will be completed around the end of March, Hillier says, with about 1 to 1.5 million Ontarians being vaccinated.

In April, phase 2 will start with another 7.5 million people vaccinated with 15 million doses by the end of June.

Phase 3 will then begin late in the summer with anyone who wants a vaccine being able to get one.

Nineteen hospitals across Ontario are now able to administer immunizations.

Health Canada approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on December 9th and the Moderna vaccine was approved on December 23rd.