COVID-19: City Immunization Task Force

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, will provide 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:

• June 2021 Report 
• Report News Release
• News Release
• Backgrounder
• Recordings from the experts at virtual public town halls

COVID-19 Vaccine Engagement Teams Grants

The City’s $5.5 million COVID-19 Vaccine Engagement Teams Grants was awarded in April 2021 to more than 150 community groups and agencies.

• News Release 
• Backgrounder

These agencies will form collaborative vaccine engagement teams that will address barriers to acceptance and increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in communities most negatively impacted by the virus.

At least one engagement team has been established in each of the City’s ten geographic clusters, representing 140 neighbourhoods. Each team is made up of a number of local community agencies that will conduct outreach and provide support to residents, aligned to the unique languages and cultures of each area.

Teams will recruit 280 Resident Ambassadors in neighbourhoods across Toronto to act as points of contact for local residents, playing a key role in building vaccine confidence. Resident Ambassadors are trusted community representatives with extensive networks and who speak languages other than English. They will be thoroughly trained on information about community engagement.

The Toronto Youth Vaccine Engagement Strategy was launched in June 2021 to establish youth-targeted equity engagement and mobilization actions, and encourage and enable COVID-19 vaccine uptake among vulnerable youth in communities disproportionally affected by COVID-19.

The Strategy is a 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 key aspect of the Strategy is the Toronto Youth Vaccine Engagement Advisory Committee, which is a youth-led group made up members of the Toronto Youth Cabinet and other youth leads. The Advisory Committee works with youth-focused groups in the city to ensure engagement tactics and outreach focus on youth with a youth-friendly lens.

Read the News Release.