This Sunday, January 23, will be game, set, match at Team Toronto’s Vax The Northwest COVID-19 vaccination clinic.
Hundreds of Northwest Toronto residents are coming out to protect their communities, loved ones and themselves by getting vaccinated in their neighbourhood at Tennis Canada’s Aviva Centre at York University.
Team Toronto is ready to vaccinate more than one thousand Northwest Toronto residents of all eligible ages with the Grand Slam of first, second, third and children’s COVID-19 vaccines. Appointments for this one-day event are still available in the provincial vaccine booking system, and can be booked by calling 1-833-943-3900 or online (search by home postal code). Walk-ins will also be available, and no health card is required.
When looking for Vax the Northwest in the provincial online booking system, Northwest Toronto residents should search by postal code to ensure the clinic appears as an option, rather than searching all of Toronto: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine/.
At the Vax The Northwest clinic, Tennis Canada will be giving away 1,000 tickets to the 2022 National Bank Open presented by Rogers, taking place August 6 to 14 at the Aviva Centre. Each individual vaccinated at the clinic will have the chance to claim a free pair of tickets to Toronto’s WTA 1000 tennis tournament. Tennis Canada volunteers will be handing out letters that explain how tickets can be claimed.
Vax The Northwest will also include music and entertainment hosted by VIBE105 DJ O-Nonymous. The day’s itinerary for children includes kid-friendly activities, toy giveaways from Humber River Hospital and a “certificate of bravery” following vaccination for children ages five to 11. There will also be giveaways from York University at the clinic.
Vax The Northwest by the numbers:
This week, Team Toronto’s community health centre partners, Vaccine Engagement Teams and community ambassadors are out in target neighbourhoods sharing information about the clinic. Through the City’s VaxTO program, thousands of text messages and broadcast voice messages promoting the clinic and providing access to vaccination information have gone out to Northwest Toronto residents.
In order to provide equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine and information for people from different backgrounds, interpreters speaking key languages will be present at the clinic, with additional translation available by phone. There are also modesty areas within the fully accessible clinic. As always, people attending the clinic are welcome to bring a support person to help with translation or any other needs. Vax The Northwest clinic information is available in Arabic, Farsi, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese – seven of the languages most spoken in the target communities.
To ensure Northwest Toronto residents have an easy, accessible way to get to the clinic, Team Toronto has partnered with the TTC to offer accessible courtesy shuttles to and from the clinic at the following pick-up locations, departing at 10:30 a.m. and continuing approximately every 45 minutes:
Jane and Finch Mall
Pick-up: northbound bus stop on Jane Street just before the mall entrance
Driftwood Community Recreation Centre
Pick-up: eastbound bus stop on Driftwood Avenue outside of the centre
Sheppard Mall for Sheppard Magellan/Yatescastle tenants
Pick-up: westbound bus stop on Sheppard Avenue on the northeast corner of Jane Street and Sheppard Avenue
Falstaff Community Centre (40 Falstaff Ave.)
Pick-up: bus stop outside community centre
North Sheridan Mall (1700 Wilson Ave.)
Pick-up: northwest corner of Jane Street and Wilson Avenue facing westbound
Emery Collegiate Institute (3395 Weston Rd.)
Pick-up location: northbound bus stop on Weston Road outside Emery CI
Jane and Tretheway (1541 Jane St.)
Pick-up: northbound bus stop on Jane Street at Trethewey Drive
York Civic Centre (2700 Eglinton Ave. W.)
Pick-up: westbound bus stop on Eglinton Avenue at Municipal Drive
Lawrence Allen Centre (700 Lawrence Ave. W.)
Pick-up: westbound bus stop on Lawrence Avenue outside Lawrence West Station
Free parking is available at the Northwest corner of Shoreham Drive and Murray Ross Parkway in the Canlan/York University Shoreham Lot. Dedicated accessibility parking will be available at the Aviva Centre, 1 Shoreham Dr.
Vax The Northwest has been made possible by a partnership between the City of Toronto, Toronto Public Health, Humber River Hospital, University Health Network (UHN), Black Creek Community Health Centre, Unison Community Health Centre, Tennis Canada and York University.
More information about vaccination options in Northwest Toronto neighbourhoods and across the city is available on the City’s COVID-19: How to Get Vaccinated webpage.
For updates about the Vax The Northwest clinic, follow #VaxTheNorthwest from clinic partners and @CityofToronto, the City’s Twitter account.
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