Toronto’s world-leading vaccination rate will help protect the city as mask requirement and other restrictions end, de Villa says

Niagarathisweek.com
March 22, 2022

Amid concerns over the end of mask rules and most other COVID-19 restrictions, Toronto’s public health chief is reassuring residents that their world-leading vaccination rate gives them strong -- but not total -- protection against the virus.

Dr. Eileen de Villa told the public health board Monday that the city “leads global cities in second dose COVID-19 vaccination coverage among eligible residents 12 and older, 18 and older, and for all residents.”

The high vaccination rates for first and second doses, and “increasing” third-dose coverage, “puts us at the forefront of cities around the world to ensure our residents are better protected from COVID-19 and the serious consequences linked to this virus.”

And while Torontonians no longer risk a fine if they refuse to wear a mask in shops and other communal indoor spaces, de Villa said “my strong recommendation is to continue using a mask to protect themselves and people around them. Just because it’s no longer a rule doesn’t mean that you have to stop doing it.”

Using March 4 data, Toronto Public Health compared the city’s vaccination coverage to cities including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles County, London, Berlin and Brussels.

“Overall, Toronto’s vaccination coverage is comparable and, most often, higher than the other cities reviewed,” the analysis found.

In first-dose coverage, only New York’s roughly 97 per cent coverage beat Toronto’s 91.5 per cent total for residents aged 12 and older. For two-dose coverage, Toronto was tops with 88.9 per cent of residents aged 12 and older.

Some 64.5 per cent of eligible Torontonians have received three vaccine doses. Toronto Public Health did not release a comparison of international cities’ three-dose coverage, saying the number of cities that can be compared is “very limited given that the eligibility for booster doses varies internationally.”

City council recently voted to accelerate plans to end an order requiring residents to wear masks in indoor public spaces to be in synch with the province’s relaxation of remaining anti-virus mandates and restrictions.

Some COVID-19 experts have urged officials to keep mask mandates in place, especially in schools, because it remains unclear how much virus is circulating in the community and how much of a risk remains of a new wave of infections.

Asked about his support for ending the mask rule early, Mayor John Tory told reporters at a ceremony to mark the full reopening of city hall to the public, after two years of pandemic restrictions, that he is putting his faith in de Villa.

“I took her advice -- that’s why she is there,” Tory said. “If our medical officer of health said no, we should keep masks on, and that was her considered advice, I would have accepted that.”

Starting this week, city of Toronto employees who have been working remotely must return to their offices at least part-time. In-person meetings of city committees resume at city hall on Tuesday, with no restrictions on masking and no requirement that participating members of the public be vaccinated.

While touting the benefits of Toronto’s vaccination rate, de Villa did not rule out a possible COVID-19 resurgence amid the relaxation of restrictions and continued uncertainty over a subvariant of the Omicron strain of the virus.

Nor did she rule out Toronto bringing back its own restrictions, if required, but said the city would keep the province in the loop via an “established process.”

“Should circumstances change, we’re prepared to work with our provincial counterparts to explore what might make sense by way of local public health protective measures,” de Villa said.