Petition calls for vaccination of Vaughan residents aged 18+ in L4H Woodbridge postal codes

Postal codes have a higher positivity rate than those starting with L4K, which are considered to be hot spots

Yorkregion.com
April 27, 2021
Dina Al-Shibeeb

As of April 23, a petition has garnered about 207 signatures out of a 500-vote target from Vaughan residents calling for postal codes starting with L4H to allow people aged 18 and older to be vaccinated.

The L4H forward sortation area is located in Woodbridge, a large suburban community in Vaughan, which also includes other postal codes starting with L3L and L4L.

“L4H consistently has one of the highest positivity rates in the York Region, we need to make this postal available for 18+ vaccination similar to other hot spots,” the petition read.

There are already four postal code forward sortation areas -- L4L, L6A, L4K and L4J -- considered to be hot spots where residents aged 35 and older are eligible to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

In addition to Vaughan, there are postal codes beginning with L3S in Markham for those 35 and older.

Data from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) has shown the latest positivity rate in York Region postal codes as of April 23, where postal codes beginning with L4H have a higher positivity rate than those listed under L4K, considered to be part of a hot spot.

For instance, L0J -- a postal code forward sortation area for some Vaughan, King and Kleinburg residents, not included in the four hot spot postal code areas -- has a positivity rate of 23.48 per cent. Postal codes beginning with L6A have 20.02 per cent, L3S in Markham have 18.84 per cent, L4L have 18.75 per cent, L4H have 17.87 per cent, and L4K have 16.99 per cent.

The petition aims to send these votes to Vaughan-Woodbridge MPP Michael Tibollo.