Toronto hosting 72 vaccine clinics over March Break in hopes of boosting vaccination rates

Toronto is hosting over 70 COVID-19 vaccine clinics in an effort to boost vaccination rates over March Break.

Despite being eligible since December, only 57 per cent of children between the ages of five to 11 have received a first dose and only 37 per cent have two doses.

For the rest of the city, only 56 per cent of those 18 years of age and older have received their third dose.

The lowest rates of vaccination are in the northwest area of Toronto, neighbourhoods the city is planning on targeting with these clinics.

“When it comes to our Team Toronto efforts to reach everyone everywhere, we don’t stop. Whether it’s in school, in the TTC stations, in your local apartment building, we’re not stopping,” said Toronto Public Health Board Chair Joe Cressy.

“We know that we have to continue getting adults their booster, just as we need to continue to get 5- to 11-year-olds their second shots and so we will be everywhere parents and kids are,” he added.

The hyper-local vaccine clinics put on by Toronto Public Health include library clinics, clinics at community centres and schools in partnership with Michael Garron Hospital, North York General Hospital and Women’s College Hospital.

Cressy said there are also 525 pharmacies across the city providing COVID-19 vaccines and the five mass immunization clinics are still operational.

Some staff at the mass immunization clinics were redeployed for these mobile clinics. “This March Break push, it’s just part of our continued efforts to scale up.”

The clinics are operating at various times and dates this week, but all the information can be found on the city’s website.

“We don’t stop fighting infectious diseases. Ever. And so the fact that we’ve entered a new phase with COVID doesn’t mean that we accept simply living with the negative effects of COVID,” said Cressy.

“We may be all tired of COVID but COVID is not done with us and so that’s why vaccinations [play] such a critical role.”