Last updated: September 16, 2022
The City’s COVID-19 Immunization Task Force, which includes experts from Toronto Public Health, Toronto Fire, Toronto Paramedics Service and the Emergency Operations Centre, is actively planning to ensure the city is ready to deliver the vaccine when it is available. The Task Force is using lessons learned from our annual flu vaccine clinics and experiences from the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009 to inform plans. City’s plan and work with government and community partners are outlined in the City’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program Playbook.
All levels of government play important roles in delivering the COVID-19 vaccine to residents:
Toronto’s Accessibility Task Force on COVID-19 Vaccines was established in March 2021 as part of the City’s COVID-19 Immunization Task Force outreach efforts and TO Supports: Targeted Equity Action Plan. It was formed in response to the high health risks associated with COVID-19 for people with disabilities and the need for improved information on and access to vaccination. (Read the news release and backgrounder.)
The Task Force, a collaboration between the City of Toronto, community agencies and health partners, provides advice on enhanced support and access to COVID-19 vaccines for people with disabilities. It is one of the approaches being used to communicate, mobilize and engage communities most affected by the pandemic in order to address systemic inequities.
The Black Scientists’ Task Force on Vaccine Equity was created in December 2020 as part of the TO Supports: Targeted Equity Action Plan, as a response to data that continued to show that the highest rates of COVID-19 cases and vaccine hesitancy were among Black people of African and Caribbean origins.
The Task Force was created in partnership with the TAIBU Community Health Centre, to address Black community concerns and issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, testing and vaccines, and is one of the approaches being used to communicate, mobilize and engage communities most affected by the pandemic in order to address systemic inequities.
The Task Force, which includes many of Canada’s top Black scientists involved in key aspects of vaccine development and Black public health, will review the major concerns and issues around COVID-19 testing and levels of vaccine acceptance, and develop public health recommendations to effectively address Black community concerns. The Task Force will present a final report of its findings and recommendations to the City by April 30, 2021.
Learn more about the Black Scientists’ Task Force on Vaccine Equity:
The work of Vaccine Engagement Teams (VETs) are a key component of the world-leading success and impact of the City’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign. VETs focus on supporting equity-deserving groups that are disproportionately and most negatively impacted by COVID-19, including older adults who are isolated, people experiencing homelessness, people living with disabilities and mental health trauma, newcomer populations and racialized communities including Indigenous, Black, and South Asian, that have historically experienced systemic oppression and exploitation from government and medical institutions.
In April 2021, the City of Toronto awarded $5.5 million COVID-19 Vaccine Engagement Teams Grants to more than 155 community groups and agencies.
In December 2021, $4.5 million of additional funding was awarded to continue this critical outreach to equity-deserving groups in high-priority neighbourhoods alongside over 200 community groups and agencies.
In July 2022, an additional $4.6 million in funding was awarded to ensure continued opportunities to increase vaccine equity and access for all residents until December 2022.
Learn more about the work of Vaccine Engagement Teams
The Toronto Youth Vaccine Engagement Strategy was launched in June 2021 to establish youth-targeted equity engagement and mobilization actions, and encourage and enable vaccine uptake among vulnerable youth in communities disproportionally affected by COVID-19.
The strategy is part of the City’s Vaccine Engagement and Mobilization Plan and is a partnership between the City of Toronto and the Toronto Youth Cabinet — a City advisory body that promotes youth participation in municipal affairs and policy development.
The Toronto Youth Vaccine Engagement Advisory Committee (TYVAC) is a youth-led group made up of members of the Toronto Youth Cabinet and other youth leads to ensure engagement and outreach tactics are developed with a youth-friendly lens. TYVAC consists of three subcommittees:
Read the news release.
Read the 2021 Year-End Report.
Learn more about the Toronto Youth Vaccine Advisory Committee Members.
Youth Focus Groups: From March to May 2022, TYVAC led five focus groups interviewing four diverse youth groups: Youth (general), Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (2SLBGTQ+) youth, Black, African and Caribbean youth, South Asian youth and Youth Outreach Workers from Social Development, Finance and Administration and Parks, Forestry and Recreation Divisions. These findings were compiled and distributed across VET teams and Toronto Public Health staff to spread awareness of youth needs during the pandemic.
Read the Youth Focus Group Report.
Youth-Focused Communications Guideline: In May 2021, youth aged 12-29 became eligible to receive a primary series of the COVID-19 vaccine. This presented a need and opportunity for targeted outreach and engagement initiatives that reflect the diversity of Toronto youth, and TYVAC launched the Youth-Targeted Communications Guideline. This resource was shared with community and health partners across Toronto and was integrated into the Vaccine Engagement Teams toolkit.
Read the guideline document.
ArtWorksTO Video Series: In partnership with the City of Toronto vaccine engagement partners, TYVAC supported the development of a ten-part testimonial-based video series. The video series aimed to reach and encourage vaccination to undecided Toronto residents. The video series provided an opportunity for the employment of youth by leveraging the creative expertise of young artists from ArtWorksTO.
Watch the video series (under Videos – COVID-19 Stories)
In January 2022, the City of Toronto awarded $450,000 to four youth-serving community organizations through the Toronto Youth Vaccine Engagement Strategy Grant. The following agencies were selected:
These organizations will work with the Toronto Youth Vaccine Advisory Committee (TYVAC) and Vaccine Engagement Teams (VETs) to enhance and develop citywide, youth-focused COVID-19 vaccine engagement strategies.
Vaccine clinics ran in the northwest part of the city during June 2022 to augment vaccination opportunities for residents who live, work and play in these neighbourhoods. Read the news release.
Toronto Public Health (TPH) brought temporary COVID-19 vaccination clinics to local community centres to make it as convenient as possible for residents ages 65 and older – and their families – to get their next eligible vaccine dose. Read the news release.
Team Toronto brought COVID-19 vaccination clinics to shopping centres and community clinics across Toronto for the City’s latest Shop And Vax campaign. Read the news release.
Vax And Ride brought COVID-19 vaccine clinics to 11 TTC subway stations across Toronto with no appointment or TTC fare required. Vax And Ride was part of Team Toronto’s equity-focused, hyper-local mobile strategy to make COVID-19 vaccines as accessible and convenient as possible. Read the news release.
The Vaccine Text Line connected residents with resources about the City of Toronto’s COVID-19 Immunization Program including appointment bookings, information on vaccines and upcoming telephone town halls. The service was available in 15 languages including English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, Tamil, Urdu, Spanish, Portuguese, Farsi, Korean, Italian, French, Bengali, Vietnamese and Gujarati.
Vax And Read offered 45 COVID-19 vaccination clinics in 12 Toronto Public Library branches across Toronto. Read the news release.
Vax And Spring offered more than 20 vaccine clinics in neighbourhoods across the city. Read the news release.
There were more than 70 COVID-19 vaccine clinics across Toronto during the school March Break. Read the news release.
Many of the clinics were family-friendly and youth-focused to support a positive vaccination experience. Community centres hosting CampTO March Break programs made vaccination easy and convenient for participants.
Team Toronto brought COVID-19 vaccination clinics to shopping centres and community clinics across Toronto for the City’s latest Shop And Vax campaign. Read the news release.
Vax The East was a 10-day campaign to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates across Toronto’s east end. In total, Team Toronto vaccinated 3,127 people including 1,240 children age five to 11 during Vax The East. Read the news release.
The first two Vax The East clinics took place on the weekend of February 12-13 at Thorncliffe Park Community Hub and the Ontario Science Centre, focusing on the Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park communities. Teams from the Toronto East Health Network / Michael Garron Hospital vaccinated 1,766 people, including 514 kids age five to 11 and 132 people who received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose.
In Scarborough, Vax The East offered pop-up vaccination clinics in schools from February 14-21. Pop-up clinics ran during the school day to vaccinate hundreds of students (with parental consent) and school staff. The clinics continued to operate after school until 7 p.m. to offer vaccines to families and the wider community. Team Toronto vaccinated 1,367 people including 726 students age five to 11 over the course of eight days.
On Sunday, January 23, Team Toronto administered first, second, third and children’s COVID-19 vaccines in Tennis Canada’s Aviva Centre at York University. The one-day event was for people of all eligible ages from Northwest Toronto neighbourhoods, with a focus on neighbourhoods with lower vaccination rates.
There were more than 1,000 openings for COVID-19 vaccinations by appointment or walk-in. Tennis Canada gave away tickets to the 2022 National Bank Open (August 6-14 at Aviva Centre). There were also kid-friendly activities, toy giveaways from Humber River Hospital and a “certificate of bravery” following vaccination for children ages five to 11.
Team Toronto reached out to neighbourhoods close to York University through community agencies and established COVID-19 Vaccine Engagement Teams and ambassadors to promote the event, remove barriers to vaccination and encourage people to get vaccinated.
Read the news release.
During the month leading up to the holiday season, Team Toronto put the focus on direct community access to COVID-19 vaccines at mobile clinics in shopping malls and community centres. Toronto residents were able to get their first, second or third dose (if eligible) of the COVID-19 vaccine while doing their holiday shopping or other errands at local walk-in clinics.
On Sunday December 12, 2021, many of Toronto’s youngest community health superheroes received a COVID-19 vaccination at Scotiabank Arena as part of Toronto Kids Vaccine Day. Team Toronto vaccinated more than 1,500 children aged five to 11 years old. The one-day-only special event aimed to ensure that young people felt safe and relaxed as they got their COVID-19 vaccine.
Toronto Kids Vaccine Day featured giveaways of basketball and hockey tickets and jerseys, as well as music and entertainment by KiSS 92.5’s DJ Clymaxxx and CityTV Breakfast Television host Devo Brown. Families were able to meet Carlton the Bear, The Raptor, Stripes and Duke the Dog, Paw Patrol characters Chase and Skye, and Toronto’s first responder mascot Sparky the Fire Dog.
From Thursday, November 11 to Sunday, November 14, dozens of mall and neighbourhood clinics across Toronto offered COVID-19 vaccination as part of the City of Toronto’s third Shop And Vax campaign. Read the news release.
Super supportive clinics operated in Etobicoke, North York and Scarborough from November 5 to 7, hosted by Toronto’s Accessibility Task Force on COVID-19 Vaccines, Toronto Public Health, the Accessibility Collaborative, vaccine engagement teams and ambassadors. The clinics were open to all, held in physically accessible locations, and accommodated specific needs such as:
Read the news release.
Vax And Treat featured 26 walk-in clinics from Thursday, October 28 to Sunday, October 31 at select malls, schools, hospitals and community centres.
Read the news release.
Vaccine walk-in clinics were open at six TTC subway stations from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Thursday, October 21 to Saturday, October 23.
Read the news release.
Shop And Vax 2.0 brought COVID-19 vaccine clinics to local shopping centres and pharmacies on Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17. This campaign expanded on the first Shop And Vax, held in late September, by featuring pop-up clinics in local plazas and malls.
Shop And Vax 2.0 – which highlighted 24 clinics in malls and plazas across the city – was part of Team Toronto’s continued efforts to make COVID-19 vaccines as accessible as possible and to bring vaccines to where residents live, work and play.
Read the news release.
VaxGiving was one of the City of Toronto’s campaigns to encourage residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19. VaxGiving took place October 6-15, with vaccination clinics offered over the Thanksgiving long weekend. The City promoted clinics at TTC stations, malls, schools, community centres and libraries – places Torontonians live, work and play – open to anyone who needed a first or second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Read the news release.
On Saturday, October 2, 2021, Toronto residents born in 2009 or before were invited to get their first or second COVID-19 vaccine dose in their own neighbourhood. #Vax25 featured 37 vaccine clinics, with at least one clinic in each of the City’s 25 wards.
Read the news release.
#ShopAndVax was a focused initiative to bring COVID-19 vaccines to local shopping centres.
The campaign was part of Team Toronto’s efforts to make COVID-19 vaccines as accessible as possible and to bring vaccines to where residents live, work and play.
The City of Toronto partnered with Toronto Public Health, University Health Network, along with Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd. and Oxford Properties Group to hold a number of mobile clinics to support a low-barrier access for residents to get their first or second COVID-19 vaccine dose.
Read the news release.
Team Toronto delivered a city-wide series of pop-up vaccination clinics for first and second doses from Thursday, September 16 to Sunday, September 19, 2021.
Data shows that unvaccinated individuals are seven times more likely to become infected with COVID-19. Receiving two vaccine doses provides the best protection against the Delta variant, severe illness and outcomes.
Days of Vaxtion partners include Toronto Public Health, the TTC, Black Creek Humber Summit, Humber River Hospital, Michael Garron Hospital, North York General Hospital, Sherbourne Health, Unity Health, Scarborough Health Team and other community partners.
Read the news release.
Thank you, Toronto! Toronto Vaccine Day set a record with close to 27,000 vaccine doses.
On June 27, 2021, a total of 26,771 Torontonians joined the City of Toronto and Team Toronto vaccination partners at the Toronto Vaccine Day “Our Winning Shot” clinic at Scotiabank Arena. The total COVID-19 vaccine doses administered are believed to be a new world record for most one-day COVID-19 vaccinations given at a single clinic.
Total vaccines administered: 26,771
Total adults vaccinated: 25,476
Total youth vaccinated: 1,295
First doses: 981
Second Doses: 25,793
Records Set:
People attending the clinic were entertained by Kiss 92.5’s DJ Clymaxxx and Breakfast Television’s Devo Brown, with visits from Carlton the Bear and the Raptor. Fifty lucky vaccine recipients – one every 30 minutes – also won Toronto Maple Leaf or Toronto Raptor tickets for an upcoming game.
The “Our Winning Shot” clinic was made possible through a partnership between the City, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), Scotiabank, University Health Network and Michael Garron Hospital. All partners want to thank the nearly 1,500 staff and volunteers that made the day a historic success.
Read the news release.