This week, the City of Toronto will join other Canadian cities and organizations around the world in recognizing National Immunization Awareness Week: April 23 to 30.
Mayor John Tory officially proclaimed National Immunization Awareness Week starting Saturday, April 23. The proclamation supports Immunize Canada’s annual National Immunization Awareness Week, an opportunity to highlight and recognize the importance of vaccines for protecting people of all ages against many disease.
Canada’s National Immunization Awareness Week coincides with World Immunization Week and Vaccination Week in the Americas. This year’s theme “Long Life for All” highlights the collective action that is required to make vaccine access and distribution equitable for all people, so that everyone has the chance to live a long and healthy life. The CN Tower and Toronto Sign will be illuminated in red, blue and yellow in observance of this occasion.
On a local level, this week also acknowledges and celebrates the incredible success of Toronto Public Health (TPH) and all Team Toronto partners in leading Toronto’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign, which is still ongoing. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, TPH and Team Toronto embarked on the largest vaccination campaign in the city’s history, administering more than 6.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine and counting while setting a North American record administering more than 26,700 doses in a single day. Due to collective efforts, Toronto continues to be a global leader among other world class cities in COVID-19 vaccination coverage with some of the highest first and second dose coverage rates for residents aged 12 and older.
In addition to leading the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, TPH plays an ongoing and important role in educating the public to make informed choices based on evidence, correcting misinformation and ultimately protecting the health of the community by maintaining high vaccination rates – including for the annual flu vaccine and school-based vaccines.
In Ontario, all children attending child care centres or school require certain vaccines according to Ontario’s immunization schedule, or a valid exemption. TPH is offering Hepatitis B, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Meningococcal vaccines for students in grade 7 to 12 who have missed starting or completing their vaccine series at schools due to COVID-19 disruptions. These vaccines are available at City-run immunization clinics by appointment (https://www.tphbookings.ca/De
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified vaccine hesitancy – the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines – as one of the top 10 global health threats and a growing concern in Canada. It was estimated that in 2019, approximately 20 per cent of parents in Canada had questions about vaccines. To respond to vaccine hesitancy, address its root causes and maintain high vaccination rates, TPH developed a comprehensive strategy (http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/v
More information about immunization is available on the City’s Immunization webpage: www.toronto.ca/community-peopl
Quotes:
“Vaccines save lives. I continue to urge people to listen to the advice of our public health professionals and get vaccinated. Vaccinations help protect you and help keep all of us safe and healthy.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Immunizations has saved more lives than any other public health intervention in the 20th century. They have eradicated smallpox and controlled other diseases that once killed or disabled children in large numbers. Vaccines are safe, effective and one of the most important ways to improve health worldwide and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Thank you to all of our health system partners for your continued efforts to raise awareness and promote the importance of vaccination to help keep residents in the communities you serve healthy.”
– Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health
SOURCE City of Toronto
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