The City of Toronto’s newly launched “VaxTO” campaign to connect residents with COVID-19 vaccination appointments and information continues to roll out. Starting today, nearly 650,000 broadcast voice message calls from Mayor John Tory will be sent to Torontonians on cell phones and through landlines in priority neighbourhoods to invite them to attend the June 2 telephone town hall and to book their first dose vaccination appointments.
The campaign’s first major event, a city-wide telephone town hall, is scheduled for Wednesday, June 2 at 6 p.m. The event will provide Torontonians with an opportunity to ask questions related to the COVID-19 vaccination program directly to Mayor Tory, Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health, and Chief Matthew Pegg, General Manager of the Office of Emergency Management. Residents can sign up for the telephone town hall through the campaign text line or tune in via webstream here
Since the campaign and text line launched on Wednesday, the City has received more than 1,000 texts per day to the text line from Toronto residents looking to access a variety of resources. By texting “VACCINE” to 1-833-750-0888, residents can be connected with appointments, information and the June 2 telephone town hall, with more functionality soon to come.
As the campaign rollout continues, texts, emails, voice broadcasts, telephone town halls and targeted multilingual social media advertising will be used to provide information to Torontonians about when and how they can be vaccinated. Campaign efforts will also work with City Councillors and community agencies and partners to support all who would like to be vaccinated, but who require help to overcome barriers to vaccination and connect them to the supports that they need.
Audio files of the broadcast voice message are available below:
Quotes:
“We are extremely pleased with the response we’ve received to date on the VaxTO campaign. The volume of texts that have been sent through the text line in just a few days since launch proves that many Torontonians are keen to get more information about vaccines and ultimately, to get back to normal, post-pandemic life. I encourage all residents to join me at the upcoming city-wide telephone town hall where we will address as many of your questions as possible. As the VaxTO campaign continues to roll out, residents will have more opportunities to access the information they need and to overcome barriers to get vaccinated, so we can get on with safely and cautiously reopening our city.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Our VaxTO campaign is about connecting directly with Torontonians where they are. That means having real conversations, providing clear information, and answering any questions that people have about vaccination. By using tools like voice mail broadcasts, we’re spreading the word directly to Torontonians about our interactive telephone town hall event on June 2, and providing seamless connections to help people find out more information or book a shot. This is how we build trust and support for vaccination with Torontonians across our city.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health
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.
Media contact: Media Relations, media@toronto.ca