The City of Toronto, in collaboration with Ontario Health Team partners and under the leadership of the Sunnybrook Centre for Prehospital Medicine and Toronto Public Health, is significantly expanding mobile vaccine team capabilities by staffing new mobile clinic teams with Toronto Paramedics and Firefighters.
Starting next week, teams of Toronto Paramedics and Firefighters will be deployed with partner physicians and healthcare professionals to locations across Toronto to operate mobile COVID-19 clinics. The teams will leverage the clinical expertise of Paramedics and healthcare professionals, who will serve as vaccine loaders and immunizers, while Firefighters manage logistics, client screening, registration and after-care support.
The responsive teams are part of the City’s enhanced supports for individuals experiencing homelessness and living in high-priority congregate settings, including shelters, drop-in sites and encampments. Toronto Public Health will deploy the teams to locations that have been identified by Ontario Health Team partners based on prioritized risk and vaccine availability. The program responds directly to the need for different solutions in order to serve different populations.
The mobile teams will be available seven days per week. The program is fully scalable – meaning more teams can be added as needed – in response to vaccine availability and community need. The teams are running through final preparations this week and will be ready to deploy as early as Monday, April 26, pending vaccine availability.
As mass vaccination accelerates across Toronto, all people are reminded that to stop the third wave of COVID-19 everyone should be staying home and limiting their contact with others as much as possible in compliance with the Province of Ontario’s Stay-at-Home emergency order. Please review the City’s COVID-19: Guide for Residents for information on what is and is not permitted under provincial regulations and City bylaws.
Quotes:
“This is a true team effort. I want to thank Toronto Fire, Toronto Paramedic Services, Toronto Public Health, our Ontario Health Team partners and Sunnybrook Centre for Pre-Hospital Medicine for working together to significantly expand our mobile vaccine team capabilities. This is good work done at wartime speed and I know it will lead to more people – some of our most vulnerable residents – getting vaccinated as quickly as possible.”
– Mayor John Tory
“The mobile effort is a truly #TeamToronto effort. Toronto Public Health, Paramedics and Firefighters along with our hospital and community partners are mobilizing – in a way that we have never undertaken – to ensure the needles get into the right arms as quickly as possible.”
– Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health
“I am very pleased that we are once again significantly expanding our mobile vaccine deployment capabilities across Toronto. Our first responders are ideally suited to respond to those in needs, across our city, and do so each and every day. This is an innovative and responsive solution that has been made in Toronto, for Toronto and by Toronto.”
– Chief Matthew Pegg, General Manager of the Office of Emergency Management
“Toronto Paramedic Services is an integral part of the healthcare system and plays a key role in the City’s response to the pandemic. We are pleased to be partnering with Toronto Public Health, Toronto Fire Services and the Sunnybrook Centre for Prehospital Medicine, to deliver vaccinations to those experiencing homelessness and in high-priority areas. This initiative will support the Team Toronto effort to protect all of our communities in the continued fight against COVID-19.”
– Chief Gord McEachen, Toronto Paramedic Services
“Sunnybrook is pleased to pitch in with Toronto Paramedic and Fire Services to vaccinate those who may have barriers in accessing other clinics. Getting ahead in this pandemic takes a team effort and we’re proud to do whatever we can to help keep the people of Toronto safe and get us all back to normal.”
– Rob Burgess, Sunnybrook Director of Emergency Preparedness and Centre for Pre-Hospital Medicine
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.