Free vaccine shuttle service for TCHC communities in Northwest Toronto

This Sunday, January 23, Team Toronto’s latest mass vaccination event Vax The Northwest will be taking place at York University’s Aviva Centre. A free shuttle service is available for residents in a number of nearby TCHC communities.

Appointments for the clinic can be made via the provincial vaccine booking system, available by calling 1-833-943-3900 or by booking online: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine/. Walk-ins are also accepted.

The clinic is focused on vaccinating people of all eligible ages from Northwest Toronto neighbourhoods, with a focus on neighbourhoods with lower vaccination rates.

The free shuttle service starts at 10:30 am and will run approximately every 45 minutes. Buses will not operate at full capacity to uphold safer physical distancing. Free masks will be offered to all riders.

Pick up and drop off locations in Toronto Community Housing communities include:

• Jane and Finch Mall (Northbound on Jane Street just before mall entrance)
• Driftwood Community Center (Eastbound on Driftwood Ave outside Driftwood Community Centre)
• Jane and Sheppard (Westbound on Sheppard Ave on the Northeast Corner of Jane Street and Sheppard)
• Falstaff Buildings (Outside Falstaff Community Centre on 40 Falstaff Ave)
• Jane and Tretheway (Northbound on Jane Street and Trethewey Drive)

For one day only, Vax The Northwest will be administering first, second, third and children’s (paediatric) COVID-19 vaccines in the 35,000 square foot Centre of Excellence, home of Tennis Canada and venue for Canada’s premier tennis event, the National Bank Open.

The clinic’s ace vaccinators are ready to go, with 1,000 appointments available and capacity to add more subject to demand. Health cards are not required to be vaccinated.

Vax The Northwest clinic information is available in Arabic, Farsi, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese – seven of the languages most spoken in the target communities. At the clinic, interpreters speaking key languages will be available, with additional translation capacity available by phone.

As always, people attending the clinic for vaccination are welcome to bring a support person to help with translation or any other needs.

Appointments are available between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. When looking for Vax the Northwest in the provincial online booking system, Northwest Toronto residents should search by postal code to ensure the clinic appears as an option, rather than searching all of Toronto: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine/.

Vax The Northwest has been made possible by a partnership between the City of Toronto, Toronto Public Health, Humber River Hospital, University Health Network (UHN), Black Creek Community Health Centre, Unison Community Health Centre, Tennis Canada and York University.

More information about vaccination options in Northwest Toronto neighbourhoods and across the city is available on the City’s COVID-19: How to Get Vaccinated webpage: www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-vaccines/covid-19-how-to-get-vaccinated/.