This Sunday, January 23, Team Toronto’s latest mass vaccination event Vax The Northwest will be taking place at York University’s Aviva Centre in Northwest Toronto. Appointments for the clinic will open at 8 a.m. today in the provincial vaccine booking system, available by calling 1-833-943-3900 or by booking online
The clinic is focused on vaccinating people of all eligible ages from Northwest Toronto neighbourhoods, with a focus on neighbourhoods with lower vaccination rates. This week, Team Toronto’s community health centre partners, Vaccine Engagement Teams and community ambassadors are out in target neighbourhoods promoting the clinic. Clinics are also being promoted to residents living in nearby Toronto Community Housing buildings.
Through the City’s VaxTO program, thousands of text messages and broadcast voice messages promoting the clinic and providing access to vaccination information will be going out to Northwest Toronto residents. VaxTO will be connecting by text with 8,000 people age 50 and older who are due for their third dose living in areas adjacent to York University and select areas in the northwest with low third dose coverage and sending broadcast voice messages with general clinic information to an additional 30,000 people in these areas.
For one day only, Vax The Northwest will be administering first, second, third and children’s (paediatric) COVID-19 vaccines in the 35,000 square foot Centre of Excellence, home of Tennis Canada and venue for Canada’s premier tennis event, the National Bank Open. The clinic’s ace vaccinators are ready to go, with 1,000 appointments available and capacity to add more subject to demand. Health cards are not required to be vaccinated.
Team Toronto is working hard to make sure the clinic is accessible and caters to Northwest Toronto residents. The team has partnered with the TTC to have 15 dedicated buses running from 11 different community hubs to the clinic. Community ambassadors will also be promoting these bus routes to ensure people have an easy, accessible way to get to the clinic.
Vax The Northwest clinic information is available in Arabic, Farsi, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese – seven of the languages most spoken in the target communities. At the clinic, interpreters speaking key languages will be available, with additional translation capacity available by phone. As always, people attending the clinic for vaccination are welcome to bring a support person to help with translation or any other needs.
Appointments are available between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. When looking for Vax the Northwest in the provincial online booking system, Northwest Toronto residents should search by postal code to ensure the clinic appears as an option, rather than searching all of Toronto.
Vax The Northwest has been made possible by a partnership between the City of Toronto, Toronto Public Health, Humber River Hospital, University Health Network (UHN), Black Creek Community Health Centre, Unison Community Health Centre, Tennis Canada and York University.
Anyone looking for the latest updates Vax The Northwest information is encouraged to follow #VaxTheNorthwest for updates from Vax clinic partners and @CityofToronto, the City’s Twitter account. More information about vaccination options in Northwest Toronto neighbourhoods and across the city is available on the City’s COVID-19: How to Get Vaccinated webpage
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