From January 10 to January 28, York held a Vax the Northwest vaccination clinic for York students, the family of its community members, and staff who meet the eligibility criteria for receiving their third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The clinic was held at the Aviva Centre, home to Tennis Canada.
Meanwhile, on January 23, 2022, York hosted a one-day mass vaccination event at Vax the Northwest, focusing on providing vaccines for neighborhoods with lower vaccination rates. According to the York website, the clinic offered first, second, third and children’s doses.
“Vax the Northwest was focused on vaccinating people of all eligible ages from Northwest Toronto neighborhoods, as Team Toronto is committed to growing vaccination momentum in areas with low vaccination rates,” states Magda Stec, media relations spokesperson for the City of Toronto.
In a City of Toronto update on January 25, mayor John Tory reported that Team Toronto has achieved noteworthy progress at the Vax the Northwest clinic, through which 55.5 per cent of eligible residents have already received their third doses. In addition, the clinic increased vaccination capacity and ensured that more than the percentage of eligible residents received their third doses.
“It was great to see this progress in action at the Vax the Northwest clinic on Sunday at York, where almost 1,700 residents came out to get vaccinated,” Tory said.
Tory also reported that 51 per cent of those who attended were walk-ins. “That is a great turnout and a great credit to the strong outreach efforts in the community, by the community itself.”
The TTC helped ease the process of vaccine accessibility, supplying transportation for hundreds of people to get to the vaccine clinic.
Nevertheless, together with York, Team Toronto’s ongoing vaccination efforts have led to 90 per cent of eligible Toronto residents aged 12 and older receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with more than 87 per cent receiving two doses.
“We want to make sure that folks in Toronto, up in this community, are able to get equitable access to vaccines. We know that accessibility at actually getting people to vaccine locations can be a huge barrier,” said Michelle Westin from the Black Creek Community Health Centre on a YouTube recording from the Vax the Northwest event.
Despite the high vaccination rates, Toronto Public Health actively encourages residents to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible, as it reduces the risk of serious illness and hospitalization rates.
With the Vax the Northwest proving great progress in increasing vaccination outreach, students share their hopes of the implications for the pandemic.
“I am optimistic that they could have everyone fully vaccinated, according to the new definition of ‘fully vaccinated,’ by the coming Monday,” Yahya Shidfar, first-year psychology student shares.
Amita Puran, a first-year social work student, is also hopeful about what York’s progress could show for future pandemic news.
“I believe that York’s initiative to roll out vaccinations has been extremely effective in ensuring our community’s health and safety. The efforts they are making to ensure easier access in receiving vaccinations will get us closer to where we want to be with the pandemic and the new variant,” Puran says.
“If York continues to do what they’re doing in their pandemic efforts, we will definitely reach our goal of combatting the virus much more effectively.”
