Home Stretch Vaccine Push continues with weekend-long #VaxTheNorth clinic at Mel Lastman Square
Today, Mayor John Tory announced #VaxTheNorth – a special weekend-long vaccination clinic – will take place on Saturday, July 24 and Sunday, July 25 at Mel Lastman Square in North York to help bolster COVID-19 vaccine rates in the area, particularly within the 18 to 45 age group, which is currently experiencing the biggest lag in vaccinations.
The two-day #VaxTheNorth pop-up clinic, led by the City of Toronto and North York General Hospital, together with Team Toronto hospital partners including Women’s College Hospital, North York Toronto Health Partners, other community partners and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, will kick off on Saturday morning and run daily from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. #VaxTheNorth follows the success of the Team Toronto Home Stretch Vaccine Push in the north and west end of the city last week.
With the aim of vaccinating thousands of local residents through this initiative, the pop-up will be open for first and second dose walk-ins, as well as scheduled vaccination appointments that can be booked through the North York Toronto Health Partners booking website.
To help spread the word and get as many local residents as possible their first or second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, extensive community-based outreach by community ambassadors is underway this week through a variety of Team Toronto community agency partners. Additionally, the City’s VaxTO campaign will provide support through locally focused telephone voice broadcasts, digital advertising and on-the-ground ambassadors. Based on neighbourhood-level data, outreach will be targeted in North York areas with postal codes starting with M2J, M2N, M2M, M2R and M3A.
Quotes:
“#VaxTheNorth builds on the success of our Team Toronto Home Stretch Vaccine Push to make sure everyone is able to get vaccinated and protect themselves and their loved ones against COVID-19. Even as the percentage of vaccinated Torontonians increase, we cannot ignore areas of the city that have low uptake. We’re using Toronto Public Health data to help us identify where in the city we need to give specific attention. In the case of #VaxTheNorth, we’re lucky to have strong partners in the community to help bring this exciting clinic to the heart of North York. I continue to encourage all residents in North York and right across the city to get vaccinated – first and second doses – so we can bring this pandemic to an end.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Our success with last week’s Home Stretch Vaccine Push in northwest Toronto made it clear that this phase of our immunization push is a ground campaign – one that must be rooted in community outreach and engagement. The #VaxTheNorth Mel Lastman Square vaccination clinic is the next step in our efforts to get Toronto vaccinated. By working with our Team Toronto health partners, local community agencies, neighbourhood ambassadors, and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, it’s all hands on deck to bring vaccines directly to North York neighbourhoods and communities.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health
“We are incredibly proud to join Team Toronto, our local North York Toronto Health Partners and MLSE to bring #VaxTheNorth to our community. I thank Mayor Tory and the entire Toronto vaccination team for working with us to create a convenient opportunity for people in North York and around the city to get their shot and have some fun while they are at it! It’s incredible to see Toronto come back to life as a result of vaccination. Let’s all come together and #VaxTheNorth.”
– Karyn Popovich, President & CEO, North York General Hospital
“Bringing vaccines close to home for those who experience the most barriers to access is critical in getting Toronto’s vaccination rates as high as possible and ensuring nobody gets left behind. Women’s College Hospital is excited to work with the City of Toronto, community and health partners to support #VaxTheNorth, which promises to be a fun event in a great community!”
– Heather McPherson, President & CEO, Women’s College Hospital
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 www.toronto.ca or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CityofToronto, on Instagram at www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cityofto.
Media contacts:
Media Relations, City of Toronto, media@toronto.ca
Andrea Piunno, Senior Communications Specialist, North York General Hospital, Andrea.Piunno@nygh.on.ca