Today, 400 kids were vaccinated at the Toronto Zoo mobile clinic in partnership with the Scarborough Health Network (SHN) and the Scarborough Ontario Health Team (SOHT). In addition, the clinic vaccinated approximately 50 adults.
Mayor John Tory, Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health, and Councillor Jennifer McKelvie (Scarborough-Rouge Park) joined SHN partners at the Toronto Zoo this morning to welcome children and families to the clinic and remind families of the importance of getting their kids vaccinated.
Toronto Zoo’s one-day COVID-19 vaccination clinic was open for children age five to 11 years old and included complementary admission to the Zoo with their vaccination appointment.
This clinic is part of an ongoing effort from SHN, SOHT and other local partners to bring the COVID-19 vaccine to the Scarborough community through vaccine clinic sites and mobile vaccine teams.
The City announced earlier today that Team Toronto is ramping up its total vaccination capacity to more than 1.2 million doses per month. Mayor Tory thanked SHN President and CEO Elizabeth Buller as well as the SHN team, and Toronto Zoo CEO Dolf DeJong and the Zoo team for hosting this COVID-19 vaccine event at an appealing venue for children aged five to 11 years old. He also thanked the families and superhero children who registered to attend this fun, child-friendly clinic.
Given the threat posed by the Omicron variant, there is a critical need for all eligible Toronto residents to get their first, second or third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. There are a growing number of Team Toronto vaccine clinics operating across the city for children age aged five to 11 years old to get their first dose and for those 12 and older to get their first, second or third dose (when eligible). Vaccine eligibility guidelines are available on the City of Toronto’s Vaccine Eligibility & Doses webpage.
City-run clinics at Cloverdale Mall, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Mitchell Field Arena, Scarborough Town Centre and Woodbine Mall are open Tuesdays to Saturdays and will soon expand hours by returning to a seven-days-a-week basis. These five clinics offer first, second and third doses (for those eligible) to people born in 2016 and earlier by appointment only, which can be arranged through the provincial booking system.
Additional options for children aged five to 11 years old are fixed clinic sites run by hospitals, Ontario Health teams, community health centres, 110 primary care providers and paediatricians, and 240 pharmacies across the city. More vaccination clinic information is available on the City’s COVID-19: Children & Vaccines webpage.
Quotes:
“Team Toronto has been hard at work bringing fun and unique COVID-19 vaccine clinics to kids and families to make the vaccination experience as comfortable as possible. Bringing the vaccine to Torontonians and making it as accessible as possible through partnerships like this one, is the right thing to do and important work right now. I want to thank all of our Scarborough health care partners for their continued work and for bringing this clinic to the Toronto Zoo. With the rise in the Omicron variant, it is all that much more important for kids to get their vaccine. I encourage parents to book appointments and to get their kids vaccinated as soon as possible. To put this pandemic behind us, we will all need to do our part and I know our superhero kids will come through and help us get there.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Thanks to our Team Toronto partners at Scarborough Health Network and the Toronto Zoo who have put so much time and energy into planning this special event for our city’s kids. We’re making vaccination a fun and welcoming event because our priority is making sure that getting vaccinated is accessible for every family. Vaccines work, and they’re the best way to protect our loved ones and our community.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair, Board of Health
“Scarborough Health Network is proud to partner again with the Toronto Zoo to vaccinate our community. This clinic for five-to 11-year-olds will help keep our young people protected. Thank you to the amazing team at the Toronto Zoo for putting together this fun and exciting clinic.”
– Elizabeth Buller, President and CEO, Scarborough Health Network
“Your Toronto Zoo is very proud to host this vaccine clinic for five- to 11-year-olds with our valued partner Scarborough Health Network (SHN). We are so grateful to the staff at SHN for their ongoing commitment and their tireless efforts to keep us safe during the pandemic and want to commend the kids for stepping up to be superheroes to keep their families and friends safe.”
– Dolf DeJong, CEO, Toronto Zoo
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.