Scotiabank Arena to host mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic for young kids Dec. 12 – 24
The Scotiabank Arena will host a mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic for young people at the Scotiabank Arena on Saturday, December 12 to Sunday, December 13. This clinic is being implemented by an organization with the mandate to promote and protect people’s rights to access vaccination-services and immunizations for free, without discrimination, and to prevent vaccine shortages due to economic instability.
As of this point, the number of persons requiring urgent immunizations has risen to 25,500, according to statistics provided by the Ontario Immunization Program. In December, the number of new cases requiring urgent immunizations will continue to rise steadily, reaching a total of 70,000 in January, including 19,500 children. Most (60 per cent) of these will require a vaccination in the coming weeks, with the exception of 19 per cent who will require an immunization in January 2020, according to the Ontario Immunization Program.
In response to a need for urgent vaccinations in Ontario, the Ontario Public Health Office of Immunization Services has partnered with the public health office of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) to offer this mass vaccination clinic through the use of a “drive-in” immunization site.
This service is scheduled to provide vaccination services to approximately 3500 young people and 5-23 year olds between Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13. Vaccines for these persons will be prioritized during this vaccination clinic, while others will be prioritized over time as they are identified.
As of December 14, 2019, 604,000 Ontario residents have been evaluated, treated or screened for COVID-19. Of these, 80 per cent had at least one COVID-19-related visit to a healthcare provider, and 45 per cent had a COVID-19-related hospital admission, including 11 per cent who went on to die from the disease.
This service is based on the Ontario Immunization Program’s recommendation for the use of mass vaccinations to manage a surge in COVID-19 cases, when other services will be under-resourced or unavailable.
A vaccine-site has been set up at the Scotiabank Arena on Friday
