Since pilot clinics began on May 17, 2021, approximately 74,660 Toronto youth age 12 to 17 years have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This total represents 45.9 per cent of Toronto youth. The Youth Vaccination strategy is being co-led by Toronto Public Health and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Youth initiatives to support vaccination have included City-run immunization clinics, hospital clinics, school pop-up clinics, and mobile clinics led by hospitals, Ontario health teams and community partners. The vaccination efforts have been supported by parent and caregiver town halls, special youth-focused school assembly presentations, and direct outreach with school boards and Principals.
The next phase of the youth vaccination effort will target areas of the city where youth vaccination uptake is lower and will directly reach out to youth through schools in those areas. Engagement and outreach efforts with community partners, Indigenous community organizations, shelters, accessibility partners and youth vaccine ambassadors will further support strategies to reduce barriers to accessing vaccine. Youth who are homebound, with medical and behavioral or developmental challenges that make attending a traditional vaccination setting difficult, are being prioritized through the City’s homebound vaccination efforts that are currently underway,
During the weeks of June 14 and June 21, a two-week youth vaccination blitz will take place across the city. The blitz will involve hospital partners, Ontario Health teams and designated appointments at City-run clinics to ensure all youth have the opportunity to receive their first dose of vaccine before summer begins.
Providing vaccinations for all who are eligible, including children and youth, will help reduce the number of COVID-19 cases in our community and allow kids to participate in activities that benefit their health and well-being. Vaccination continues to be an important way to protect ourselves, our families and our communities from COVID-19, including the variants of concern. We continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated at their earliest opportunity.
Quotes:
“We are doing everything we can to get as many residents vaccinated as possible. We continue to see strong uptake in COVID-19 vaccine from our young people. I want to thank families for having important discussions about vaccination and coming forward to get vaccinated now that everyone 12 and older is eligible. The vaccine will help protect our young people, their families, and their community. The faster we get everyone vaccinated, the faster we can bring this pandemic to an end so thank you to everyone working on the youth vaccination effort and the overall Team Toronto vaccine effort.”
– Mayor John Tory
“The kids are, indeed, alright. Young people across our city are stepping up and taking action to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. It’s great to see such fast and impressive progress when it comes to youth vaccination rates, but we’re not done yet. Alongside SickKids Hospital, healthcare partners, and school boards, we’ll keep scaling up until every 12 to17 year-old in our city can quickly and easily access the important protection that vaccines provide.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health
“The youth vaccination effort across Toronto is incredibly encouraging. Youth vaccination provides protection to children their families and their communities. We never want to take COVID-19 for granted and we never want to take risks we don’t have to. Wherever we can deny COVID the chance to spread we want to do that.”
– Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer 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.