Toronto plans more than 350 sites for COVID-19 immunizations -- the largest vaccination in the city’s history

Thestar.com
March 2, 2021
Jennifer Pagliaro

Nine large city-run clinics will be the “backbone” of Toronto’s vaccination plan that includes more than 350 clinics in total, officials announced Monday -- the largest mass immunization in the city’s history as the number of suspected variant cases grows.

Those “mega sites” are set to be operational by April 1, two weeks after the province’s registration system goes live, senior city officials said in a briefing at city hall.

The city also plans to see 49 hospital-run clinics, 46 community health centre operated sites and 249 pharmacy locations operating, as the province prepares to move to vaccinating residents aged 80 and older.

“This will be the largest vaccination effort in the history of the city of Toronto,” said Mayor John Tory. “And I am very confident we will be able to meet this challenge.”

Both Tory and Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city’s medical officer of health, said the vaccine provides the most effective defence against the spread of the virus as they urged Torontonians to continue to follow stay-at-home orders.

City officials were not clear on when all of the planned clinics would be running, stressing those plans were contingent on the availability of vaccines as distributed by the federal government through the province and which has been slowed in recent weeks by manufacturing delays.

Faced with questions about why other areas in the GTHA were already vaccinating people aged 80 and over, officials said that the vaccines were being distributed on a per capita basis, but the provincial framework that sets priority is based on vulnerability. Toronto has a high number of vulnerable people who qualify in Phase 1 of the framework compared to places like Guelph.

On Monday, de Villa said there were 1,179 cases screened positive for mutations that were expected to be confirmed positive as variants of concern -- a doubling from the 511 cases a week ago.

“Vaccination will be vital to countering the continued spread of COVID-19 in any form,” de Villa said.

The city also plans to operate five mobile clinics as it works to prioritize high-risk neighbourhoods that have shouldered a disproportionate number of cases in the city. That is in keeping with advice from the province’s science advisory table released last week.

Details about hospital, community and pharmacy sites have not yet been released.

The mobile teams will be able to pop up at food programs, shelters and other locations to vaccinate vulnerable groups like those experiencing homelessness, the city release said.

The province is responsible for prioritizing who gets vaccinated first, including the age-based roll-out for the general population. The city must follow those guidelines.

Residents will have to sign up for an appointment at a city clinic, when eligible, through the provincial registration system that goes live by phone and email on March 15.

As part of the communications plan to help promote vaccination and reduce vaccine hesitancy, the city also plans to encourage residents to post vaccine selfies on social media using designated “selfie stations” with a pink Band-Aid avatar and stickers for branding, according to a newly released “playbook” from the city.

The city’s vaccine rollout plan is based on a 2016 emergency plan tested through a mass Toronto Public Health exercise in 2017.

The nine city-run sites, the largest operations, will, once open, run seven days per week, nine hours a day, administering an expected 120,000 doses a week, the city said in a news release.

Five of nine clinics are already set up, with work starting on a sixth this week, said Chief Matthew Pegg, who is general manager of the city’s office of emergency management.

The locations of the planned city-run clinics are:

Toronto Congress Centre (Etobicoke)
Carmine Stefano Community Centre (Etobicoke)
Cloverdale Mall (Etobicoke)
Mitchell Field Community Centre (North York)
The Hangar in Downsview Park (North York)
North Toronto Memorial Community Centre (Midtown)
Metro Toronto Convention Centre (Downtown)
Scarborough Town Centre (Scarborough)
Malvern Community Recreation Centre (Scarborough)