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TORONTO People without a valid Ontario health card have been excluded from booking an appointment at any of Toronto’s mass vaccination clinics for the time being, a situation that at last one public health expert says is a barrier to access that we “just cannot afford” right now. Toronto’s Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vinita Dubey has confirmed to CP24.com that agents at the provincial call centre are refusing to allow people without health cards to book an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at mass vaccination clinics, even though there has been no such requirement put in place by Toronto Public Health.
Data suggests highest risk Toronto neighbourhoods have lowest vaccination rates
by Michael Ranger, News Staff
Posted Apr 7, 2021 6:34 am EDT
Last Updated Apr 7, 2021 at 8:01 am EDT
Eligible recipients get their COVID-19 vaccines at a mass vaccination clinic in Toronto on Monday, March 8, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Toronto neighbourhoods that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic also have some of the lowest vaccination rates.
But according to data by ICES, broken down by postal code, the richest neighbourhoods with the lower risk rank among those where the most residents are rolling up their sleeves.
Published Tuesday, April 6, 2021 4:00PM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, April 6, 2021 4:53PM EDT People without a valid Ontario health card have been excluded from booking an appointment at any of Toronto’s mass vaccination clinics for the time being, a situation that at last one public health expert says is a barrier to access that we “just cannot afford” right now. Toronto’s Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vinita Dubey has confirmed to CP24.com that agents at the provincial call centre are refusing to allow people without health cards to book an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at mass vaccination clinics, even though there has been no such requirement put in place by Toronto Public Health.
Published Sunday, April 4, 2021 12:30PM EDT Toronto Mayor John Tory says the province needs to retool its COVID-19 vaccine priority list to focus on hardest-hit regions and essential workers, and stop just moving down the age pyramid to determine eligibility, as the number of patients in Ontario hospital ICUs hit a new record. Tory says that the spread in areas where essential workers cannot stay home is unacceptable and the current regime of vaccine rollout is not reaching them. “We need to be taking vaccines out to higher risk places of employment – taking vaccines out to buildings in higher risk neighbourhoods so we can proactively go and put those needles in arms,” Tory said on CP24 on Sunday morning.