KITCHENER -- The Region of Waterloo has opened up pre-registration for a COVID-19 vaccine to anyone 12 years of age and older as of Tuesday morning.

In a news release, the region said that pre-registration is expanding locally as the province announces a stable and reliable vaccine supply in Ontario.

Anyone interested in pre-registering for a vaccine can book through the region’s website.

They’re also reminding people that it could take between four to six weeks before they’re contacted to book an appointment.

Last week Health Canada approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for anyone 12-15 years of age. The region says that anyone between 12-17 years old will receive the Pfizer vaccine when it is their turn to get an appointment.

Wendy Ashby's daughter Alex turns 12 soon, which marks a special milestone in the pandemic.

"She'll be able to be vaccinated and I think it's going to give a much safer return to in-person learning in September," Ashby said.

Dr. Kelly Grindrod, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo's School of Pharmacy said expanding pre-regristration signals a faster vaccine rollout in the coming weeks.

"It's a sign of the supply we are expecting to be getting in," Grindrod said. "But, it's also telling us when that's within reach, we can actually see when that is actually happening."

While the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is approved for anyone 18 year of age and older. COVID-19 vaccination is not recommended for anyone younger than 12 years of age at this time.

Also on Tuesday, the province announced it would no longer offer AstraZeneca vaccines as first doses due to an increase in reports of rare blood clots.

Public health officials provided an update at Tuesday's regional council meeting, saying they expect a boost in supply heading into next month. They're also working on a plan to shorten the gap between first and second doses.

As of Monday, 45 per cent of the eligible population in the region has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

More doses are expected soon, but officials said they likely won't be able to reach their target goal of 10,000 vaccinations per day.

"Our vaccination clinics will be able to expand capacity and administer more vaccines starting soon," Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang said.

Public health also updated its online vaccination dashboard on Tuesday, providing more data on vaccination rates and demographics.