Toronto residents can easily get their COVID-19 vaccine while doing their holiday shopping or other errands in the community this weekend as Team Toronto’s month-long Vax The Holidays campaign continues with clinics from Thursday, December 2 to Sunday, December 5.
Vax The Holidays features mobile and pop-up vaccine clinics in shopping malls, community centres, schools and places of worship, offering first, second and third doses for people born in 2009 and earlier.
This week, residents can choose from 14 mobile clinics across the city, operating during various days and times, to get their COVID-19 vaccine:
A list of community-based clinic locations and operating hours can be found on the City’s COVID-19: How to Get Vaccinated webpage.
While continuing the data-driven approach to determining vaccine clinic locations, Vax The Holidays is focused on making sure locations are easily accessed and in areas where large groups of people will be over the coming weeks, including busy holiday shopping locations.
Residents eligible for a third (booster) dose include:
Team Toronto continues to make progress toward its goal of having 90 per cent of eligible residents born in 2009 or earlier fully vaccinated. More than 85.7 per cent of residents 12 years and older have now received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and 89.2 per cent of residents 12 years and older have received at least their first dose.
As Mayor John Tory outlined yesterday, just 23,000 Toronto residents need to get their first dose to reach 90 per cent and just 116,000 residents need to get two doses now for the City to reach the 90 per cent fully vaccinated goal.
For families looking to have their children aged five to 11 vaccinated, City-run clinics at Cloverdale Mall, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Mitchell Field Arena, Scarborough Town Centre and Woodbine Mall offer first, second and third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to anyone born in 2016 and earlier. These clinics are by appointment only and can be arranged through the provincial booking system.
Approximately 34 school clinics will be operating over the next five days in locations across the city. These mobile clinics will be shared with members of the local school community. Kids can also get vaccinated in hundreds of pharmacies and doctors’ offices across the city.
More than 21,500 doses of vaccine for children aged five to 11 have now been administered in Toronto, representing approximately 10 per cent of Toronto residents between five and 11 years of age who have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine since the vaccination campaign for kids began.
Quotes:
“Every week, we host mobile clinics across the city in convenient locations as a way to inspire and facilitate COVID-19 vaccinations for the people of Toronto. Vax The Holidays includes clinics at three major malls this week as well as 11 other community-based locations. As we work to learn more about the Omicron variant, the advice from public health officials continues to be clear: Get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to have the best possible protection against the virus and the variants. Choose one of our many walk-in clinics or book an appointment at a City clinic or participating pharmacy. Our Team Toronto Kids COVID-19 vaccination plan is also continuing this weekend to help families get vaccinated. Thank you to everyone on Team Toronto working on these vaccination efforts and thank you to everyone who is stepping forward to get vaccinated over the coming days.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Our Vax the Holidays campaign continues to help us get closer to our goal of 90 per cent of Torontonians 12 and older fully vaccinated. By operating mobile vaccine clinics at malls and shopping centres so that residents can get vaccinated while already out to do their holiday shopping, we’re making getting vaccinated convenient and accessible. Thanks to everyone who is stepping up to get vaccinated and keeping our city safe.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health
“Vaccination continues to be one of the most important actions we can take and encourage others to take to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our community from COVID-19. My sincere thanks go to Team Toronto organizations for continuing to work very hard to bring COVID-19 vaccines to all residents in our city. With the holiday season fast approaching, Vax The Holidays is another campaign to help residents get fully vaccinated if they haven’t already so we can safely enjoy connecting with friends and loved ones during this time of year as we live with this virus.”
– 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.