City of Toronto targets hot spots for second dose against variants

Thestar.com
June 11, 2021
Jennifer Pagliaro

The City of Toronto is again pushing vaccination in hot spots as they work to stave off spread of COVID-19 with incoming variants of concern.

On Thursday, a press release announced another mobile and pop-up clinic push in 18 hot spots for those who have yet to receive their first dose and for those eligible to receive their second dose.

The clinics will start immediately and focus on those areas where COVID-19 positivity is high, vaccine coverage is low and the Delta variant has been identified, a press release said.

Any who lives works or goes to school in the following postal codes is eligible for a first of second dose once the minimum waiting period has been reached after the first dose: M9W, M9V, M6M, M9L, M9M, M3J, M3K, M3M, M3N, M6N, M3L, M9N, M1G, M1B, M1S, M1J, M4H, M4A.

The press release warned that the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) is “more infectious” than the other strains previously confirmed to be spreading in Toronto, “including the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) which was the main cause of Toronto’s third wave of COVID-19.”

But vaccines are proving effective to combat the spread of the new threat.

“Recent studies have shown that two weeks after the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, an individual’s protection against the Delta variant is 50 per cent higher than one dose alone,” the press release said. “The sprint strategy will continue prioritizing access to first dose, but also serve as a low barrier access channel for getting second dose vaccine to these hot spots to increase the protection of residents most at risk of contracting COVID-19.”

The city estimates there are 157,000 people aged 18 and older who have yet to receive their first dose in the targeted postal codes.

The clinics will first to advertised directly to target communities through family doctors, employers, faith leaders and others and typically won’t be possible to book online or by phone.

“With the Delta variant circulating in the city, Team Toronto is making every effort to increase first and second dose vaccination coverage in the neighbourhoods that have been hardest hit by COVID-19,” Toronto’s medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa was quoted as saying. “By protecting the most vulnerable, we protect Toronto as a whole.”

Across the city, just over 72 per cent of Torontonians had received at least one dose of a vaccine as of Thursday morning as case counts have dropped dramatically from the peak of the third wave. About 11 per cent were fully vaccinated, according to city data.