The City directly operates 10 of the 87 long-term care homes in Toronto: Bendale Acres, Carefree Lodge, Castleview Wychwood Towers, Cummer Lodge, Fudger House, Kipling Acres, Lakeshore Lodge, Seven Oaks, True Davidson Acres and Wesburn Manor. Residents in City-run homes began to be vaccinated on December 31, 2020; the first staff doses were administered by University Health Network on December 14. More than 90 per cent of City-operated long-term care home residents have now been vaccinated with their first dose of vaccine. Immunization clinics continue in City-operated homes to enable more residents, staff members and essential caregivers to receive the vaccine. Immunization is voluntary.
On January 6, the Province requested Toronto Public Health and other regional health units to support the vaccination of all residents, health care workers and essential caregivers in long-term care homes in their respective jurisdiction by January 21. The City and the Immunization Task Force are committed to ensuring the most vulnerable residents of the city are vaccinated in the safest and most efficient means possible, working with the Province and hospital partners to achieve this goal.
The Government of Canada is responsible for obtaining the supply of COVID-19 vaccines; the Province has responsibility for distributing the vaccines and administering them to priority groups established under the Province’s framework; and Toronto is responsible for supporting the administration of the vaccine in accordance with provincial prioritization and scheduling frameworks as vaccines are provided by the Province.
Please review the City’s simple “Dos” and “Don’ts” guide for recommended and mandatory public health measures. The guide communicates what is, and what is not, permitted under the provincial Lockdown Regulation that remains in effect to help stop the spread of COVID-19: toronto.ca/lockdownguide.
Quotes:
“I’m proud that by working together with our hospital partners, Toronto Public Health and City staff we’ve been able to vaccinate the majority of residents and essential workers in long-term care homes across Toronto well ahead of the provincial deadline. While overall vaccination policy is the responsibility of the Province, we are working all out at the municipal level to help get as many of the most vulnerable people in our city immunized as quickly as possible. Thank you to everyone who is working to get people vaccinated right now and thanks to everyone who is stepping up to get vaccinated - it’s the right thing to do.”
- Mayor John Tory
“While the Province continues to lead the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, the City stepped up this month to help distribute the vaccine to seniors in our long-term care homes, and to the frontline workers that care for them every day. Thanks to our well-prepared and tireless team of our public health staff and hospital partners, we have been able to quickly and efficiently help protect many of our most vulnerable residents. But this work is just beginning: we will continue to support all efforts to expedite the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine to Torontonians.”
- Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health
“Our progress vaccinating most residents and essential workers in Toronto long-term care homes against COVID-19 is welcome news. Toronto Public Health staff remain committed to supporting vaccination efforts so that we can get back to life more as we remember it before COVID-19. I hope that everyone will take advantage of the opportunity to get vaccinated as more vaccines become available in the coming months. In the meantime, I urge residents to continue to continue to stay home except for essential reasons to help stop virus spread, protect our health care system capacity for those who will need it most and save lives.”
- Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health
