Toronto pharmacy hosts walk-in vaccine clinic for teachers, school staff on Monday
Posted January 1, 2022 9:41 pm.
Last Updated June 27, 2022 10:31 am.
At least one Toronto pharmacy owner is doing his part to help get more teachers, daycare workers, and school staff vaccinated ahead of a return to in-person learning next week.
Lawlor Pharmacy off Kingston Road in the city’s east end held a one-day vaccine clinic from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., accepting walk-ins.
Pharmacist Kyro Maseh says it will run on Monday, and there are no restrictions on postal codes or regions.
Monday January 3rd 9:30am to 4pm walk in vaccines for teachers, school staff and daycare workers at Lawlor Pharmacy 944 Kingston Rd.
Express line for adult 1st and 2nd doses. #OntarioTeachers— Kyro Maseh (@KyroMaseh) January 2, 2022
“We’re closed for regular business that day, so it will allow me to vaccinate alongside a student,” Maseh said. “This will make the line move quickly, but dress warmly regardless. Thank you, and please spread the word.”
The initiative was well-received by many, including Toronto physician Dr. Michael Warner.
“What a great initiative to help protect those working in education before return to school,” Warner tweeted. “Hopefully, other pharmacies can prioritize walk-in slots for Ontario teachers, school staff and daycare workers.”
Warner is among several health care officials criticizing the Ford government’s back to school plan, saying a delay of 48 hours (from Monday to Wednesday, when classes are expected to resume) achieves very little.
RELATED: Epidemiologist urges extended school closures, calls Ontario’s plan ‘catastrophic’
Warner suggested waiting for at least one to two weeks, which would delay a return to in-person learning until mid-January.
“It doesn’t make sense to me to throw gasoline on the Omicron fire when we haven’t yet seen the peak,” Warner said. In one or two weeks, the peak may be past us and returning to school could make complete sense. But until then, if we send kids back to school on January 5th, hospitals are going to get hammered.”
Education Minister Stephen Lecce says, “students are returning to safer schools,” adding that kids and teachers will be protected courtesy of enhanced ventilation, high-quality masks, and one of the highest vaccine rates in Canada.
The province also announced it would no longer report COVID-19 case numbers at schools and child-care centres.
The memos sent Thursday to school boards and child-care centre operators say the provincial government is suspending reporting cases in these facilities because of “changes to case and contact management.”
As part of the government’s recent announcement, publicly funded PCR testing will only be available for high-risk individuals who are symptomatic or at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and vulnerable populations.
School staff will also have access to N95 masks, and the province is rolling out 3,000 more HEPA filter units.
The changes come on the heels of record-setting daily spikes in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, with just under 18,000 infections reported on Saturday.
