Today, Mayor John Tory announced the locations of City-operated COVID-19 immunization clinics. The City of Toronto’s Immunization Task Force is working to ensure all nine City-operated clinics will be ready to open once the Province of Ontario provides direction, and vaccine supply is secured by the Government of Canada.
The nine City-operated clinics will be located at:
The clinics are not yet open to the public. The target for opening City-operated immunization clinics is early April, pending vaccine supply and direction from the Province. Once fully operational – seven days per week, nine hours per day – it is estimated that more than 120,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses will be administered each week through the network of City-operated immunization clinics. The clinics will be operated by Toronto Public Health, with support from other City staff, and will include qualified nursing staff to administer the vaccinations under appropriate medical oversight.
The clinics are in strategically-located areas of the city and are part of an overall Vaccination Program that includes mobile clinics and response teams to ensure priority neighbourhoods and vulnerable populations have access to immunization and are part of a wider community plan that involves health sector partners, including hospitals and other community health organizations.
Other immunization clinics will be operated by hospital and community partners, mobile clinic operations, targeted community response and the eventual widespread availability of vaccine through family doctors and pharmacies. The City-operated immunization clinics are just one piece of the immunization plan for Toronto – there will be many and varied opportunities for vaccination, for all residents, once the supply of vaccine is re-established.
In partnership with the Province and community agencies, the City is planning targeted vaccination campaigns for high risk and vulnerable populations. This will include mobile clinics to service our homeless population and clients of our shelter system and targeted mobile clinics in high transmission neighbourhoods.
The Immunization Task Force’s Community Liaison Team is engaged in a targeted approach to ensure universal equity for vaccine access. The team is working with racialized communities to determine what is the best approach to meet each community’s unique needs and interests. Last week, the City announced the Black Community COVID-19 Response Plan developed to provide enhanced support for Black Torontonians. The City has also reached out to South Asian communities and is currently working with community leaders to determine the engagement that will work best for them. The City is actively engaging with Indigenous communities through its Indigenous Affairs Office. The City will have more details to share on this specific work in the coming weeks.
The timing for opening of City-operated immunization clinics will be determined by the Province of Ontario. Vaccine allotments for the City are also determined by the provincial government with participants for each phase of vaccination identified in accordance with the Province’s Ethical Framework for COVID-19 vaccine prioritization. The City will provide additional information about the clinics and their operations, including the process for scheduling immunization appointments through a Provincially-run booking system, once vaccine supply becomes available and the clinics are directed to open by the Province. More information on the City’s Vaccination Program is available online: www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-protect-yourself-others/covid-19-vaccines/.
As Toronto awaits the rollout of mass immunization, to reduce and eliminate the transmission of COVID-19, protect the healthcare system and save lives, the City continues to urge all residents to stay home as much as possible to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Please review the City’s simple “Dos” and “Don’ts” guide for recommended and mandatory public health measures. The guide explains what is, and what is not, permitted under the provincial Lockdown Regulation. The guide can be found at www.toronto.ca/lockdownguide.
Quotes:
“Getting vaccinated is the right thing to do. It will help protect you, your family and friends, and your co-workers. And that is why your City government is working to support the other governments in rolling out the vaccine. All this detailed and important planning work is happening while Toronto Public Health and our city's hospitals continue to vaccinate residents and staff in all long-term care homes and retirement homes across Toronto.”
- Mayor John Tory
“The resolution of the COVID-19 pandemic will rest in large part on widespread vaccination. Millions of people elsewhere in the world have received their vaccines safely. Already evidence is beginning to emerge that indicates the vaccines are helping to turn the tide. I urge everyone in Toronto to be ready for their turn and, until it comes, to keep distancing so there is less COVID-19 from which we need protection. In this instance, as in many so many others, prevention is vital to good health.”
- Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health
“Our COVID-19 Immunization Task Force continues to be hard at work, ensuring that we are ready to deploy the network of City-operated immunization clinics as very soon as vaccines are made available to us by the Province. These clinics will play an important part in the overall, city-wide immunization effort and we are doing all that we can to ensure the efficient and effective rollout of vaccine, while ensuring that our Toronto Public Health colleagues remain supported by a robust and effective incident management system throughout the fight against COVID-19”.
- Chief Matthew Pegg, Toronto Fire Services, General Manager of the Office of Emergency Management
“Every resident of Toronto should be able to access a vaccine. That's the goal – that's what we're working towards. Since the fall, Toronto's Immunization Task Force has working around the clock to prepare a plan for City-operated immunization clinics, to open once vaccine supply is available and the province gives us the go-ahead. In addition to the nine City-operated vaccine clinics, other clinics will be operated by the hospital and health care sector. Critically, Toronto's plan is committed to ensuring vaccine equity for residents across our city. Our plan includes targeted vaccination campaigns and mobile clinics for high-risk and vulnerable communities – those who have been hit hardest by this pandemic.”
- Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health
My spring newsletter is out! Plus: free compost this weekend & 2024 Environment Days.
Read my latest update on engagement and enforcement activities at Tommy Thompson Park and the Leslie Street Spit.
