Toronto, Peel hit vaccine milestones as hotspots make progress in fight against COVID-19

Toronto and Peel Region are collectively celebrating COVID-19 vaccine milestones on Wednesday.

For its part, Toronto announced it has now administered more than two million vaccines to date with Peel Region surpassing the one-million vaccination threshold on Tuesday.

Yesterday, the city announced that 65 percent of adults over the age of 18 have now received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Toronto says it accomplished that feat one week earlier than anticipated as per the province’s vaccination goals.

Meantime in Peel Region, the public health unit announced that with its vaccination rollout improving by the day, it continues to inch towards its goal of vaccinating 75 percent of adults with one dose.

“Our vaccination program continues to hit milestones,” said Peel Region’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lawrence Loh on Wednesday.

“… On Monday, we surpassed one million doses administered. Today, we are rapidly approaching 70 percent first dose coverage for the 18-plus population.”

Loh says he anticipates that will be accomplished in the days to come. He says this includes 75 percent first-dose coverage for those aged 50-and-over and over half of 18-49 years old with first doses.

“The province’s hotspot allocation has worked and over the first two weeks of May, it has allowed us to advance our plan and bring our capacity online in very short order to get this hard-hit community vaccinated.”

Mayor John Tory says Toronto’s progress is thanks to an influx of vaccines dolled out by the province.

“Thank you to everyone involved in the Team Toronto effort for getting us to the target of having 65 percent of all eligible adults in our city vaccinated and getting us there early,” said Mayor Tory.

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“Once again, Premier Ford has set a vaccination target and the people of Toronto have worked to meet that target well ahead of deadline. Our work to get even more residents vaccinated continues because we know that the faster we get everyone vaccinated, the faster this pandemic will be over.”

Tory says city-run immunization clinics were also able to administer more than 500,000 vaccine doses through the long weekend; another feat the mayor says is integral as it attempts to get the virus under control.

“Thank you to all Toronto residents who have already stepped forward to get their shot. I encourage all residents to get vaccinated as soon as they can to protect themselves and their loved ones.”

The City is encouraging youth to go out and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Last week the province announced it was ahead of schedule opened up vaccine appointments to residents aged 12-and-up as of Sunday.

“There has never been a greater time to recognize the dedication of our community. Thank you to every individual who has been vaccinated or helped a family member, a colleague or friend to connect to vaccination,” added Loh.

“I’m so proud of the commitment in support of our community. At the same time, I am thankful to the teams and community members who continue to commit themselves to this tireless effort. This milestone is also a reminder that we must continue to do our part by remaining vigilant and working together to keep each other healthy and safe.”

“As part of that, I encourage anyone who is eligible to get vaccinated so we can come out on the other side of this pandemic,” Loh said.

The Pfizer shot is currently the only treatment that has been authorized by Health Canada for use in individuals aged 12 and over.

“We have surpassed an incredible milestone as 65 percent of adults over the age of 18 in Toronto have now received at least one vaccine dose. That is two out of every three adults in the city,” said Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa.

“That number speaks not only to Team Toronto’s impressive efforts to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, but also the commitment from the people of Toronto themselves. This level of vaccine coverage shows us that we have successfully engaged many people in the city to chart a clear path forward in our vaccination strategy.”