The City of Toronto is entering the next phase of its COVID-19 vaccination program. As Toronto’s vaccine coverage surpasses 80% first-dose in residents 12 years and older, and approaches 75% for second doses, the City of Toronto will be expanding its mobile vaccination team operations to increase access to vaccines for those yet to receive their shot.
Building on the success of recent Home Stretch vaccine efforts, in this next phase of the vaccination campaign, Toronto will be increasing hyper-local mobile clinic opportunities in focused areas with lower vaccine uptake. Directing resources to mobile efforts and increasing access to mobile clinic teams, will expand Toronto Public Health’s (TPH) ability to bring vaccines directly to workplaces, faith groups, organizations and communities that experience barriers to vaccination and low vaccine uptake.
Beginning August 23, TPH will redeploy approximately 700 staff from mass immunization clinics to expand its mobile clinic operations. This redeployment will add 17 mobile clinic teams to TPH’s five mobile teams currently administering vaccines across the city.
TPH’s mobile teams expands the hundreds of vaccination opportunities now available across the city, including more than 500 pharmacies vaccination providers, mobile teams deployed by Toronto health care sector partners, and an increasing number of primary care providers who are now administering COVID-19 vaccines.
At the same time, the City will be adjusting its mass immunization clinics operations.
On August 22 (end of day), City-operated clinics at the following locations will close:
City-operated COVID-19 vaccine clinics at Cloverdale Mall, the Hangar, Metro Toronto Convention Centre and Scarborough Town Centre will remain open and continue to offer COVID-19 vaccines.
Clients who receive their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a City-operated mass immunization clinic in August, will be informed on how to receive their second dose. Clients who have appointments booked at a city-operated clinic that is closing after August 22, have been contacted to move their appointment to an earlier date.
Quotes:
“The City has had tremendous success getting residents vaccinated. Now we are moving to make sure that success keeps going and we are further ramping up our mobile clinic efforts so we can make sure we reach people who have yet to be vaccinated in their neighbourhoods. This will ensure we get as many residents vaccinated as possible so that more and more Torontonians are protected, and we can truly bring this pandemic to an end. If you haven’t got your vaccination yet, please get vaccinated. And if you have received your first and second shot, please encourage your loved ones, if they haven’t been vaccinated, to also get their shots.”
– Mayor John Tory
“In this immunization campaign Torontonians have stepped up. However, we’re not finished yet. The next phase of our work requires us to reach everyone, everywhere, by bringing vaccines directly into neighbourhoods. Scaling up mobile clinic operations, redeploying staff from mass immunization clinics, and engaging people where they live and work – this is the critical next step in our efforts to get Toronto vaccinated.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Board of Health
“I couldn’t be more proud of our amazing vaccination progress. Many thanks to Toronto residents who have stepped up to protect themselves and those around them. And many thanks to the tireless efforts of our staff and health partners for their continued hard work to vaccinate Torontonians. Whether you’ve rolled up your sleeve, supported a friend or loved one to get their vaccine, or worked in one of the vaccination clinics, you have contributed to protecting our community. Every vaccine dose contributes to lives saved and for this I thank you for doing your part and taking care of each other. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to get fully vaccinated as soon as you can.”
– Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health
“At the request of the Province, the City of Toronto built the playbook for mass COVID-19 immunization clinic operations in Ontario and opened the first proof of concept clinic in January 2021. Since that time, we have expanded vaccine clinic operations across the city, delivering more than 4.2 million doses of vaccine alongside our Team Toronto partners. As we now begin to demobilize clinics and increase our focus on hyper-local mobile teams, our teams will continue to remain focused on beating COVID-19 once and for all.”
– Fire Chief Matthew Pegg, General Manager of the Office of Emergency Management and COVID-19 Incident Commander
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.