Top doctor urges Torontonians to keep masks on as city pushes 3rd doses

Toronto’s top doctor is urging residents to continue to wear masks indoors as the city initiates a push to get eligible individuals their third COVID-19 vaccine doses amid a sixth wave of the virus.

Mayor John Tory and Toronto’s chief medical officer Dr. Eileen de Villa both spoke at Union Station on Monday morning. It was the first time the pair have spoken publicly together since they ended their weekly COVID-19 updates last month.

De Villa says the spike in cases happening across the city is not unexpected given the recent loosening of most public health measures, but she says the city is much better prepared to deal with a surge in infections than it was in previous waves.

“We are not post-pandemic, no matter how tired we may be and no matter how much we wish that it were so,” said De Villa. “We are however in a very different place, a better place than we were.

De Villa cited vaccines, anti-viral treatments, and masks, as some of the tools that can help Toronto through the most recent wave. She is urging all residents to continue to wear masks when indoors and in close contact with others.

“Wearing a mask is a simple thing we can all do, especially if you are older, have older people in your life, have a serious health condition or simply are indoors with people you do not know,” de Villa says.

She stopped short of calling for a return to some public health restrictions, but says that individuals should be prepared to adjust their behaviour moving forward in order to appropriately respond to the level of transmission in the community.

“This is one of those times,” she said.

Toronto launches ‘Third Dose Drive’ to get eligible residents COVID-19 booster shots

Tory and de Villa also announced a push from the city to get more people third doses of their COVID-19 vaccine.

“The top three priorities in Toronto’s fight aganst COVID-19 are vaccination, vaccination, and vaccination, in that order,” said Tory.

As part of the ‘Third Dose Drive,’ Toronto Public Health (TPH) and the city are working to provide easier access for booster shots through five initiatives:

  • Pharmacy Pilot Program – A pilot project through four local pharmacies that will see an email sent to existing pharmacy clients to encourage them to get their third dose if they are eligible. The email will include pharmacy details and pharmacy-specific booking information. All participating pharmacies are in neighbourhoods with lower vaccine uptake among residents who are 50 years of age and older.
  • Primary Care Pilot Program – Local community primary care providers will work with TPH to provide easy access for residents to obtain first, second and third COVID-19 vaccine doses directly from their primary care provider and family physicians.
  • Hyper-local building mobile clinics – Targeting buildings in areas with low vaccination rates or high rates of COVID-19 infection. TPH is planning additional pop-up clinics at these congregate settings, including six during the weeks of April 4 and 11, and other clinics by Team Toronto health partners.
  • Vax and Ride – Bringing vaccine clinics to TTC stations from April 7 to 10. On Monday, a one-day clinic will take place at Union Station from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m..
  • VaxTO – The VaxTO campaign will reach out to older residents to encourage them to get their third dose. The city says the call centre continues to contact approximately 40,000 people living in 13 Toronto neighbourhoods with the highest numbers of eligible residents who have not yet received a third dose of vaccine.

 

A full list of Toronto clinic locations and their hours can be found here.

Experts say now is the time for a renewed vaccination strategy in Ontario aimed at boosting third-dose uptake, shots for kids and preparing for wider fourth doses.

While 91 per cent of Ontarians 12 and older have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, only about 60 per cent have received three.

Infectious diseases expert Dr. Isaac Bogoch said Ontario is likely in better shape than the sheer percentage of boosters would suggest. Two doses plus infection provides roughly the same protection as three doses, Bogoch said, and millions of Ontarians have been infected since the Omicron variant emerged late last year.


With files from The Canadian Press

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