Today, Mayor John Tory announced the City of Toronto will be having a Long Weekend Dose Drive this weekend to encourage thousands of residents to get vaccinated.
The City is opening more than 19,000 new vaccination appointments over the Victoria Day long weekend at City-operated immunization clinics. More than 4,750 additional appointments are being added each day this coming Victoria Day Weekend, including Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The new appointments are spread across six of the City’s clinics, in addition to already-scheduled appointments. The new appointments will be added to the provincial vaccine booking system at 4 p.m. today.
Mayor Tory also announced today that 10,000 new vaccine appointments are being added to City-run clinics for next week.
As of yesterday, everyone age 18 and older is eligible to book a COVID-19 vaccination appointment at a City-operated immunization clinic. In the first day of this expanded eligibility, more than 20,000 people booked appointments for City-operated clinics.
The increased appointment availability is spread across six of the City’s immunization clinics:
The six clinics were selected based on their ability to scale operations, accessibility and ability to support hot spot neighbourhoods.
Appointments can be booked by eligible residents through the dark blue “Book a Vaccine” button on toronto.ca/covid-19 or by calling the provincial vaccine booking line at 1-833-943-3900.
City-run clinics are part of the Team Toronto vaccination network that includes hundreds of clinics operated by hospitals, pharmacies and other healthcare and community partners. A full list of eligible groups with information on where and how to register for appointments is available on the City’s COVID-19: How to Get Vaccinated webpage. Those seeking a vaccine appointment are also encouraged to register and check availability with healthcare partners through vaccineto.ca/, local pharmacies or healthcare providers.
For the current wave of COVID-19 in Toronto, amplified by variants of concern, staying home and following public health guidance is the best way to keep everyone safe. Please review the City’s COVID-19: Guide for Residents for public health guidance and information on what is and is not permitted under provincial regulations and City bylaws.
Quotes:
“The Long Weekend Dose Drive will help our ongoing Team Toronto work to get everyone vaccinated as quickly as possible. With more vaccine supply confirmed, we are opening up more appointments this weekend to maximize our City-run clinic capacity. This Victoria Day weekend you can help make sure this is our last long weekend in lockdown by getting vaccinated. Thank you to everyone working to get shots in arms through this holiday weekend and thank you to everyone who takes time this weekend to get vaccinated.”
– Mayor John Tory
“The Toronto Long Weekend Dose Drive – be a part of it! It will be a great weekend to get your shot. With the recent confirmation of increased provincial vaccine supply for Toronto, we can scale up appointments at our City-run immunization clinics and get even more Torontonians their first shot this long weekend. Along with all our Team Toronto partners, we’ll keep working until everyone, in every corner of our city, can quickly and easily access the vaccine.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health
“There is more at stake this holiday weekend than perhaps there has been for a very long time. The combination of self-protection measures and vaccination is the prescription to ease the pandemic. I encourage you to talk about vaccination this weekend. If you’ve had your first dose and you’ve got a story to tell, tell it. Encourage people to follow your lead, whether you have been vaccinated or are planning to be.”
– Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health
“I am pleased that even more people are able to book their appointment for COVID-19 vaccine. This additional supply of vaccine available over the course of this weekend, returns our network of City-operated clinics to maximum operational capacity, bringing us yet another step closer to achieving our goal of vaccinating as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.”
– Chief Matthew Pegg, General Manager of the Office of Emergency Management
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.