The Ontario government is shortening the amount of time residents who received an initial dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine should wait before getting their follow-up shot.

The government had previously said AstraZeneca recipients should wait 12 weeks before getting a second shot, despite shortening the interval for all other vaccines.

But it amended the guidance Saturday afternoon, joining other provinces in reducing the wait time to eight weeks.

The province now says those who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine should seek their second shot between eight and 12 weeks later, noting those residents can safely use any of the currently approved vaccines for their second dose.

The province had been facing growing pressure to shorten the interval, with mayors in one long-standing COVID-19 hot spot region saying residents should have the choice to seek full immunity sooner and acquire better protection against more infectious virus variants.

The province says AstraZeneca recipients will be eligible to book their second shots as of Monday at 8:00 a.m., noting those who want a second dose of the same vaccine must revisit the place where they received the first one.

Residents who wish to switch to the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines as a second shot may book through the provincial portal.