The City of Toronto announced today that it is partnering with Vaccine Hunters Canada (@VaxHuntersCan) to assist Toronto residents in identifying available next-day appointments at City-run immunization clinics.
At the end of each day, the City will provide Vaccine Hunters Canada with clinic appointment availability for the next day.
Currently, only two clinics – Toronto Congress Centre and Cloverdale Mall – have a few remaining appointments available, but as vaccine availability becomes more plentiful next week, new appointments will be added and available appointments at all nine City clinics will be displayed. There are also appointments available during the week of May 10 at all City-operated clinics.
Importantly, people must book their appointments for City-run clinics through the provincial booking system, which is based on current Phase 2 eligibility criteria – there are no walk-in or standby appointments available at City-run clinics. Current eligibility at City-run clinics is as follows:
Pregnant women, teachers and childcare workers must call the provincial booking system at 1-833-943-3900 to book an appointment; the online booking system can’t be used for these groups at this time.
The City is always eager to find innovative ways to ensure eligible Toronto residents can book a vaccine appointment as early as possible. Collaborating with Vaccine Hunters Canada is just one more way to assist residents in securing a vaccine appointment at City clinics for as early as the next day.
Toronto is the first municipality in Canada to officially partner with the volunteer organization. Vaccine Hunters Canada is a community of volunteers dedicated to helping navigate the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, understand vaccine eligibility, and connect eligible Canadians with appointment opportunities. The volunteer initiative has become a popular means for people to find out about available vaccine appointments.
Hospital and community healthcare partners also operate vaccine clinics, including pop-up clinics that target specific areas of the city. To date, 1,104,855 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the city by Team Toronto at City-run clinics, hospital and community healthcare clinics and at participating pharmacies.
Quotes:
“Our Team Toronto vaccination efforts involves the City and Toronto Public Health, hospitals, community healthcare partners, community organizations, pharmacies and doctors. This is a huge, all hands-on deck effort and Vaccine Hunters Canada have stepped up to help people get vaccinated and navigate the different registration systems. We are excited to work with Vaccine Hunters to help get more people vaccinated.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Since Day 1, our Team Toronto vaccine campaign has been a joint effort between the City of Toronto and our hospitals, pharmacies, community health centres, frontline community agencies, neighbourhood ambassadors, and now Vaccine Hunters Canada. The City of Toronto is partnering with Vaccine Hunters Canada to help connect Torontonians to appointments at our City-run clinics. This is all part of our commitment to getting the word out and making sure we reach every resident, in every area of our city.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, social media has been an important communications tool. I would like to thank the Vaccine Hunters team for partnering with the City of Toronto, as we work together to provide our residents with the most accurate and timely information relating to COVID-19 vaccine available across Toronto.”
– Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg, General Manager of the Office of Emergency Management
“We are honoured to be joining the City of Toronto’s efforts to get the city vaccinated. This is a new phase for our organization, and we are excited to increase our efforts to collaborate with public health units across the province. Our motto is ‘neighbours helping neighbours, coast to coast’ and are grateful to the tens of thousands of Canadians who have contributed to this campaign. We feel an urgent sense of duty to work together so we can protect the most vulnerable and rebuild our communities.”
– Joshua Kalpin, Spokesperson, Vaccine Hunters Canada
Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit the City’s website or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.