Today, Mayor Tory announced the launch of “Vax The East,” Team Toronto’s latest vaccination effort to bring COVID-19 vaccines to neighbourhoods with lower vaccination rates.
Vax The East will run from February 12 to 21 and bring COVID-19 vaccines close to home for residents in the east end of Toronto. The campaign’s hyper-local vaccination opportunities are particularly aimed at vaccinating residents in Flemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park and across Scarborough.
Vax The East: Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park
Kicking off this weekend, Team Toronto will hold Vax The East events at the Ontario Science Centre and the Thorncliffe Park Community Hub on Saturday, February 12 and Sunday, February 13 from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Both clinics will offer first, second, third and kids (paediatric) COVID-19 vaccines.
Pfizer and Moderna will be available. Physicians and nurses will be available to answer vaccine-related questions. While outreach efforts will be focused on Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park communities, eligible residents across Toronto are welcome to attend both clinics.
Walk-ins will be accepted at both clinics. A health card is not required for vaccination. Appointments can also be booked now in the provincial booking system or by calling 1-833-943-3900. More information is available on the Michael Garron Hospital website.
Whether it’s for the love of science or for the love of community, residents are encouraged to come out to “Vax The East: Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park” events this weekend to get vaccinated and protect themselves, their families and communities against COVID-19.
Vax The East: Scarborough
Running from Valentine’s Day to Family Day, “Vax The East: Scarborough” will roll out mobile vaccination clinics in schools across Scarborough. The eight-day effort will see five to six local schools visited by mobile teams each day with vaccines available for eligible students, staff, parents and the wider community. More information on the clinics is available at scarbvaccine.ca.
Vax The East equity and inclusion
Following in the footsteps of Team Toronto’s Toronto Vaccine Day, Toronto Kids Vaccine Day and the recent success of the hyper-local Vax The Northwest event, the Vax The East team is working hard to deliver unique and fun vaccination opportunities where kids and parents feel safe and comfortable. All clinics will be fully accessible.
Through Vaccine Engagement Teams and community health partners, ambassadors will be reaching out to residents directly to help book appointments and share translated flyers with clinic and vaccine information in multiple languages including Urdu, Gujarati, Dari, Farsi, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, Bengali, Slovak, Tigrinya and Amharic. The City’s VaxTO program will also send broadcast voice messages to promote the clinic and provide access to vaccination information to thousands of local residents this week.
Vax The East is a collaboration between the City of Toronto, Toronto Public Health, Michael Garron Hospital, East Toronto Health Partners, Scarborough Health Network, Scarborough Ontario Health Team partners, Ontario Science Centre, Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, TTC, Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) and Team Toronto partners to support communities with lower COVID-19 vaccination rates. More information about vaccination options across the city is available on the City’s COVID-19: How to Get Vaccinated.
More details about Vax The East media opportunities will be shared this week and next.
Those looking for the latest updates are encouraged to follow #VaxTheEast for updates from Vax The East partners and @CityofToronto, the City’s Twitter.
Quotes:
“We’re launching Vax The East to support communities with lower COVID-19 vaccination rates and bring vaccines close to home for thousands of Toronto’s east-end residents. This is another example of how all of our Team Toronto partners are working together to help people have the best protection possible against COVID-19. I encourage everyone to come out this weekend and get vaccinated and participate in the fun activities Team Toronto has planned for these events.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Vax The East is an important part of our campaign to reach everyone, everywhere, by bringing vaccines directly into neighbourhoods with lower vaccination rates. Building off of the success of our recent Vax The Northwest clinic, we’re bringing our hyper-local strategy to Toronto’s east-end. Thanks to our Team Toronto health and community partners, Vax The East will be a welcoming and accessible event for the whole family to get vaccinated together.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health
“We continue to remove barriers to ensure residents have access to first, second and third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This is just one of our many ongoing campaigns to target communities and neighbourhoods with lower vaccination rates, to ensure that all residents are protected from COVID-19. I continue to urge all residents to get their first, second or third dose of the vaccine, to protect themselves, their loved ones and community from COVID-19.”
– Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health
“Throughout our COVID-19 immunization campaign in East Toronto, we’ve worked with our community partners to make vaccines as low-barrier as possible to local residents, particularly those in neighbourhoods that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. We’re thrilled to continue this work alongside the City of Toronto, Ontario Science Centre and other partners with Vax The East, helping to ensure first, second and third doses are as easy and convenient to access as possible at two sites that are family-friendly, transit accessible and incredibly familiar to our community members in Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park.”
– Denny Petkovski, Director, Special Projects and Volunteer Services, Michael Garron Hospital and member of East Toronto Health Partners
“Our goal with Vax The East is to make the vaccination process easy and close to home for people in the neighbourhoods we serve. Many of these individuals are at higher risk of COVID-19 because they are essential workers, live in high-density buildings and other factors. Our teams will be working with partners and community ambassadors in the lead-up to and during the event to answer questions, share multilingual resources and ensure local residents have the information they need to make confident decisions about vaccination.”
– Karma Lhamo, Manager, Community Development and Special Projects, TNO – The Neighbourhood Organization and member of East Toronto Health Partners
“SHN and our Scarborough Partners are proud to be partnering with the City of Toronto on Vax The East. Working together, we have been able to equitably administer over 700,000 vaccines throughout Scarborough. Vax The East week will help our residents access vaccines close to home.”
– Elizabeth Buller, President and CEO, Scarborough Health Network
“Ontario is pleased to be part of Team Toronto’s latest mass vaccination initiative. Hosting the Vax the East mass vaccination clinic is a great example of the Ontario Science Centre’s commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of individuals and communities through science, technology and innovation. I encourage anyone who lives in the east end of the city and is in need of a first, second or third COVID-19 vaccine dose to attend this clinic.”
– Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries
“Visiting the Ontario Science Centre helps inspire young, curious minds to develop a passion for science and an understanding of its influence on our world. Scientists have demonstrated this with the development of effective vaccines in the fight against COVID-19 – our best protection against the virus. That’s why we are proud to host a Vax The East clinic for residents in our communities of Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park.”
– Paul Kortenaar, CEO, Ontario Science Centre
“Through the Vax the East campaign, we are meeting people in their communities and providing convenient, accessible opportunities for vaccination. I would encourage anyone looking to get their first, second, or third doses to take advantage of these upcoming clinics.”
– Councillor Jaye Robinson (Don Valley West)
“Great to see “Vax The East” kick off today. It’s crucial we are prioritizing a hyper-local approach – something I’ve been advocating and pushing for since the beginning, because we’ve seen the difference it makes to vaccination rates. We need to ensure that vaccines are accessible to every resident and that we really lower any barriers to that access. I think this 10-day campaign is fantastic – and needed here in the East. It is a great opportunity to get into our neighbourhoods, do the outreach and bring in the resources so we can continue getting as many people protected against COVID-19 as possible.”
– Councillor Brad Bradford (Beaches-East York)
“This weekend, we’re launching Vax the East to support the communities of Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park. The City of Toronto has worked closely with the Ontario Science Centre, the Thorncliffe Park Community Hub, and other community partners to ensure that access to your first, second, and third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is as convenient as possible. I encourage residents to come out this weekend and get vaccinated. Thank you, Team Toronto!”
– Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Don Valley East)
“It’s extremely important that vaccines continue to be accessible and available to our community, with flexible hours and resources on the ground for people of different backgrounds and ages. The Vax The East initiative is helping to bring vaccine equity and access to our neighbourhoods, and I encourage everyone to come out and get vaccinated.”
– Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre)
“Vax the East: Scarborough will bring vaccine opportunities to our local school communities and make it easier for eligible residents of all ages to get vaccinated and reduce the risks associated with COVID-19.”
– Councillor Jennifer McKelvie (Scarborough-Rouge Park)
“I can’t thank everyone involved in Team Toronto enough for all of their hard work and dedication to see as many people as possible fully vaccinated! To my residents, I say: Don’t be shy, come out for your first, second or booster shot! But please, for the health of our community, get your shots! We are coming to you with this new campaign, so please join your friends, family and neighbours in helping to fight COVID-19.”
– Councillor Paul Ainslie (Scarborough-Guildwood)
“A vaccination is the best way to protect you, your family, friends and neighbours from getting seriously ill from COVID-19. Starting today, “Vax the East” is a 10-day campaign to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates across Toronto’s east end. I encourage everyone to come out and get vaccinated.”
– Councillor Nick Mantas (Scarborough-Agincourt)
“From Valentine’s Day to Family Day, let’s show love, Scarborough Southwest! Take advantage of the “Vax the East: Scarborough” campaign, and get vaccinated. For yourselves, and for your community.”
– Councillor Gary Crawford (Scarborough Southwest)
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