Toronto to ramp up COVID-19 vaccine clinics ahead of expected demand for 3rd doses
CBC
Toronto officials say they are ramping up city-run immunization clinics to meet expected demand for third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Mayor John Tory said the city plans to nearly double the capacity of the five mass immunization clinics it operates. The clinics will begin to operate seven days a week with expanded hours, meaning they will have the potential to administer 41,000 doses weekly.
"We have been taking a calm but cautious and determined approach to the Omicron variant," Tory told reporters at a virtual news conference at city hall on Wednesday.
"The advice from public health officials is clear. We need to roll out as many booster shots to as many people as possible who are eligible as soon as possible. The good news? We are off to a good start on third doses."
More than 270,000 people in Toronto have already received their booster shots. Most residents in long-term care homes in Toronto got third doses as part of a coordinated flu shot campaign.
Tory said 20,000 more appointments have already been added to the booking system of city-run clinics.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that the province will expand eligibility for third doses to Ontarians 18 years of age and older and will shorten the interval between second and third doses to three months. Tory said the city will prepare for this change because it means more people will be eligible for booster shots starting on Monday.
"No doubt, this will lead to announcing even more enhancements in the coming days. No option is off the table in terms of meeting that increased need and expanding that capacity. We will explore every opportunity to ramp up that capacity," Tory said.
Team Toronto, the city's large vaccination network, is also looking at ways to increase capacity through new locations and expanded operations, Tory said. The network wants to add pharmacies to the list of the 450 currently administering COVID-19 vaccines.
Dr. Na-Koshie Lamptey, the city's deputy medical officer of health, said data from Wednesday shows there are 39 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in Toronto with more samples undergoing genome sequencing.
Lamptey said not all cases are linked to travel and that means there is local community transmission of the variant.
Omicron spreads rapidly, is highly transmissible and is quickly becoming the dominant strain in Ontario, she said.
Because of its rapid spread, the variant could lead to a large number of infections and even a small percentage of new cases could strain the health care system, she said. A booster shot increases a person's immune response against the variant, she added.
Toronto residents need to continue to be careful to prevent transmission, she said.
One of Prince Edward Island’s last surviving Second World War veterans has died.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada has too much regulation and not enough investments in clean energy and technology — and he's making his most direct repudiation yet of his predecessor's environmental policies.
WARNING: This story contains distressing content, including racist, violent and antisemitic language.
A national Jewish advocacy organization is taking legal action against Manitoba's medical regulator over a complaint it made last year alleging a prominent doctor made antisemitic comments on social media.
A cat that went missing in a remote area of northeastern B.C. is finally back home with its family in Oklahoma, five months later.
It wasn’t clear trolleys would be a hit in Medicine Hat, but the Sunshine Trolley has wound its way into Hatters’ hearts.
More than 200 volunteers and politicians gathered in Etobicoke Saturday for the Daily Bread Food Bank’s holiday sort.
The rising cost-of-living has already made supporting a family difficult this year. But, the holidays can make staying on budget that much harder.
Strong winds across the Maritimes left thousands of N.B. Power customers without electricity on Saturday afternoon — and it could be days before all customers have their power restored.
Toronto police say they located a body inside a downtown Toronto home Saturday.
Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge is responding to public outcry against his government’s policy changes for non-permanent residents by making a plea to the federal government.
A man in Saskatoon is in hospital after being shot by police as officers executed a warrant late Friday night.
RCMP say a man who was reported missing near Key First Nation has been found deceased.