Torontonians over 75 with limited transportation options will be offered free rides to COVID vaccination clinics

Thestar.com
March 25, 2021

Older Torontonians and others in danger of not being vaccinated against COVID-19 because they have no way to get to a clinic will soon get some extra help.

Starting Monday, people aged 75 and older who have limited or no transportation options, as well as younger people with disabilities or who are immune-compromised, can get free transport from some community organizations.

Other people will become eligible for the round trips in the “coming weeks,” the city says, including “seniors under 75 years old and others who are frail or have underlying conditions which make them at greater risk from COVID-19 and/or unable to safely access other modes of public transportation.”

The rides can only be within the city of Toronto. Those getting them must have a vaccination appointment at a clinic run by the city or a health partner. Vaccinations at pharmacies are not included in the “vaccine equity transportation” program.

The City of Toronto is giving funding to three community organizations that will expand their services to ensure those who need to be vaccinated will be.

They include:

• Toronto Ride, a partnership of 11 not-for-profit agencies, which can be contacted via www.torontoride.ca/contact-us/ or 416-481-5250.
• iRide, part of Sinai Health, which can be contacted via https://www.circleofcare.com/contact/ or 1-844-474-3301.
• Scarborough Ride, part of Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities, which be contacted via https://www.schcontario.ca/schc-scarborough-ride-transportation-hemodialysis.html or 416-736-9372.

Mayor John Tory told reporters at a Wednesday COVID-19 briefing that the TTC is going to provide voucher codes to community agencies for people who can take public transit to a vaccine appointment but can’t afford the fare.

The TTC is also finalizing plans for shuttle bus service from Finch station to a city-run clinic at Mitchell Field Arena, starting Monday when a clinic there opens. The shuttle buses will run every 30 minutes for an initial three-week trial period.

Uber Canada is also participating, Tory said, donating to community organizations $150,000 worth of voucher codes for individual rides for “people who have no transportation options, live in communities with high rates of COVID-19, who have challenges travelling to be vaccinated, as well as for some people with disabilities.”

Co-op Cabs, in a statement after the announcement, blasted the city for not inviting the taxi industry, which has been hard hit by the pandemic, to participate.

“As an industry that has been heavily regulated for so many decades and forced to compete with these multibillion-dollar ride-sharing companies (which operate under less strict regulations), Toronto taxis, at the very least, should have been approached with the opportunity to participate in the initiative and explore how they could support the plan,” the company said in a statement.

Asked about the lack of a role for taxis, Tory said: “I’m quite happy to talk to the taxi industry if they can play a role” in the city’s “all hands on deck” effort to end the pandemic.

Tory also heralded a milestone in Toronto vaccination efforts: more than 400,000 doses given, including to people who got two doses. That figure is growing steadily after a national vaccine shortage temporarily curbed immunizations.

Three city-run clinics, at the Toronto Congress Centre in Etobicoke, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre downtown and Scarborough Town Centre, opened last week. Six more city clinics are set to open in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday, a clinic jointly run by East Toronto Health Partners and the city opened at the Thorncliffe Park Community Hub in the East York Town Centre.

It’s being run differently from the other clinics in two ways: how staff vaccinate people and operating hours.

Unlike city clinics at which people enter and move between stations for registration, vaccination and aftercare, at the Thorncliffe site clients take a seat and the clinic staff come to them, one by one.

Wolf Klassen, a vice-president at Michael Garron Hospital, said the “sit and stay” model was developed keeping in mind the mobility limits of many older Torontonians.

“At the clinic this morning we had a gentleman who walked in and said, ‘I can’t stay here, there’s too many people; this is going to take too long,’” Klassen said.

“We said, ‘No, please have a seat,’ and he was done in under 20 minutes and was delighted. I think a lot of people felt that way.”

City clinics are open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., until increased vaccine supply allows extended hours that could include 24-hour operations. The Thorncliffe Park clinic is opening at 8 a.m. for now.

“We know seniors like to get an early start on things,” Klassen said, adding that when vaccine supply allows the clinic will be vaccinating people 18 hours per day.

Toronto fire Chief Matthew Pegg, who is overseeing the city’s vaccine rollout, said city officials will watch Thorncliffe for any lessons that can be applied to other clinics.

To get vaccinated at any of the clinics, people need an appointment.

Eligible Torontonians can book appointments online through the provincial portal at https://covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine/ or by phone through the provincial vaccine information line, 1-888-999-6488.

Some hospitals, including University Health Network and Humber River, and Ontario Health Teams are also booking appointments through their own registration sites and organizing clinics. More information is available at https://vaccineto.ca/landing.