City announces 'Vax the Holidays' campaign, previews kids plan

Torontosun.com
Nov. 18, 2021

As Toronto nears its goal of getting 90% of all its residents double-vaccinated for COVID-19, the push is on for the remainder to get jabbed.

“We’re working to help get the remaining thousands that stand between us and 90% to get them the best protection possible against COVID-19 as soon as possible,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory, speaking at the COVID-19 city briefing on Wednesday morning.

To that end, Tory announced the Vax The Holidays campaign starting Wednesday and running through the weekend featuring 14 mobile clinics in shopping malls, community centres and schools that will be operating on top of the city’s five vaccination clinics and the 450 pharmacies offering vaccines.

“I’m also announcing today we’re opening 11,000 new vaccine appointments for the city’s five vaccination clinics starting next Tuesday,” said the mayor.

Tory says 85% of all T.O. residents are now double-vaccinated and more than five million COVID-19 vaccines were administered as of Tuesday.

In the meantime, the city is gearing up for Health Canada’s approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for kids, aged 5-11, in the next few weeks.

About 43,000 people responded to a Toronto Public Health survey earlier this month with 66% saying they would vaccinate their children and the majority of those want it done at their child’s school.

“That is a good start,” said Tory. “It does show that we have work to do to provide as much trusted information and reassurance to families as we possibly can about the vaccines and their safety.”

Tory said the initial vaccine campaign will start with the 30 neighbourhoods that TPH has identified as a priority.

“Hundreds of clinics are being planned to help the more than 55,000 children who reside in these neighbourhoods alone to make sure that they receive their COVID-19 vaccine,” he said.

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Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, assured parents the vaccine was safe for their young children.

“Contrary to some of the myths that have been circulating, mRNA is not new vaccine technology,” said de Villa.

“In fact, scientists have been studying and working with mRNA vaccines for decades and have found no long term negative effect. In the data submitted by Pfizer to Health Canada, the vaccine is reported to have a 90% efficacy rate in children, 5-11 years of age. Clinical trials show that most vaccine side effects in children will be mild, similar to adults, and usually resolved in one to three days. Soreness at the injection site is the most common side effect, followed by fatigue and headache.”