'We're too nice': York Region ramps up its call for equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution

Toronto, Peel immunizing 18+ in hot spots, while York limits age groups, cuts back clinics

Yorkregion.com
April 30, 2021
Kim Zarzour

It’s time to start "banging the drum" for more vaccines in local hot spots, York Region council says.

Regional chairperson Wayne Emmerson told council members April 29 that the region is being shortchanged compared to other regions hit hard by COVID-19.

"We're too nice," Emmerson said. "I'll be honest with you, we always try to play nice in the sandbox, but we’ve got to start saying what we need for our residents."

Councillors unanimously agreed to send a letter to Queen's Park and Parliament asking for more equitable distribution to all hot spots; many also vowed to push their message in the media.

Dr. Karim Kurji, the region’s medical officer of health, said York, with its population of 1.2 million and 16 hot spots, expects to receive 78,390 weekly vaccine doses for hot spot areas.

Peel, on the other hand, with a population of 1.5 million and 25 hot spots, will receive149,760 weekly doses for hot spots and Toronto, with its population of 2.9 million and 53 hot spots, will receive 246,870 weekly doses.

Following this two-week period, York Region expects it's shipment to drop to 51,480 weekly doses, while Toronto will receive 135,720 doses and Peel Region will receive 66,690 doses.

York Region has been immunizing residents ages 35 and older in selected hot spots -- better than other health units that can only immunize 45 and older, but still far below Toronto and Peel, where clinics are able to vaccinate those 18 and older.

"To be fair to the ministry, what they have done is taken away from other health units in order to redirect to communities that have hot spots," Kurji said.

Kurji said York has had to close clinics and adjust hours due to a limited supply, and the province has indicated the region will see a further significant drop in coming weeks.

Distribution of vaccines, and the decision to identify some areas as higher priority than others, remains a contentious issue in Ontario.

York does not have access to all data the province uses to determine who gets vaccines, derived from a complicated calculation based on historic data from hot spot populations, while other allocations are based on per capita, Kurji said.

"The issue around labelling of areas as hot spot is something that probably requires a lot of scrutiny," he said. "When we looked at the data in York Region, we found that some of the provincially designated hot spots were not as hot as some of the areas we consider hot spots."

The ministry originally identified 114 high-priority communities in Ontario -- 13 in York Region.

Faced with a vaccine shortage, York used local epidemiological data to narrow the list to six areas.

The region has since added three new postal codes that, based on local, current data, are more in need, bringing the total York Region hot spots to 16. They include the following postal codes: L4L, L6A, L4K, L4J, L3S, LOJ, L4H, L3L, L4E, L4B, L4C, L6B, L6C, L6E L3T and L9N.

"In the grand scheme of things, we in York Region are certainly doing better than we did before, and better than many other health units in terms of allocations," but it’s still based on the province’s original 13, and it is still less than required, Kurji said.

"When you look at the fact that Peel and Toronto have been able to offer vaccines to 18-plus in hot spots and we’re only at 35, that’s an incredible differential," Scarpitti said, adding that many of York’s hot spots border those in Toronto and Peel. "Clearly, we need more vaccines to lower that age threshold and to cover off the teachers and workers in those areas."

At a special meeting Apr. 19, council crafted a letter urging the premier and prime minister to remedy the problem -- but it won’t stop there.

The regional politicians also plan to take the matter to "the press".

With Peel Region promising to have herd immunity by summer, and York Region having to close clinics down, Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Iain Lovatt said it's time to get the media involved.

"It's a huge problem. We need to start banging that drum."