A look inside Toronto's least vaccinated neighbourhood and what's being done to change it
Nadjib Alamyar and the team at Woodgreen Community Services have spent hours knocking door-to-door in Toronto's Taylor-Massey neighbourhood working to engage with their community and increase vaccine uptake.
According to city data, the Taylor-Massey area, comprised of Crescent Town and Oakridge neighbourhoods, has among the lowest rates of vaccination in Toronto.
“We work around the clock and all our partners really work around the clock too,” Alamyar told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.
In July, the city issued a statement on Taylor-Massey’s low vaccine uptake, noting that only 60 per cent of residents had received their first dose and that 48 per cent were fully vaccinated.
To address that, the city said it would increase resources and vaccine efforts in the area. The effort, dubbed the ‘Home Stretch Campaign,’ ran throughout late summer and focused on increasing vaccination uptake in M4B and M4C postal codes, including introducing nine micro-targeted pop-up clinics in locations such as grocery stores, schools and public squares and conducting 20,000 “geographically targeted telephone voice broadcasts.”
In the months following the increased effort, Taylor-Massey has seen an uptick in completed vaccinations.
As of the week of Oct. 9, 62 per cent of eligible Taylor-Massey residents have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and are considered to be fully vaccinated, a 14 per cent increase since the city's July statement.
While the number of fully vaccinated residents has increased significantly, the area still lags far behind the rest of the city's vaccination statss of Wednesday, 82 per cent of eligible Toronto residents have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations.
To assist in increasing local vaccine uptake, Toronto Public Health (TPH) says it is “actively engaging with residents in Taylor-Massey.”
“While [community health teams] report ongoing vaccine hesitancy among some residents, they continue to build trust with the community to move people closer to vaccine confidence,” a TPH spokesperson told CTV News Toronto.
“Compared to the rest of the city, Taylor Massey has a higher proportion of people living in high-rise apartments. Taylor Massey also has a higher proportion of people who use public transportation as their primary mode of commuting. These are both factors that could contribute to lower vaccine access.”
The team at Woodgreen echoed these statements. To tackle barriers like a greater proportion of residents living in apartment buildings, Alamyar and his team began conducting vaccine clinics in the lobbies of those buildings.
“We also provide information in multiple languages to meet the needs of newcomers,” he said.
When reached for comment, City Councillor for Ward 19, Beaches-East York, Brad Bradford told CTV News Toronto that he was “aware” that vaccination rates in Taylor-Massey are behind other parts of Toronto.
“We’ve been taking extraordinary steps to get vaccine information out to residents in these areas,” Bradford said.
“We’ve done targeted advertising, extensive pushes through all of the community and social services agencies, libraries, community centres and other resources that are connected in through our Neighbourhood Improvement Area programs.”
Although, “at some point,” Bradford said, “we have to accept that some of the low rates must be connected to vaccine hesitancy.”
“The information is definitely getting out there and people are still making the choice not to get vaccinated. While I support people’s right to choose, I am concerned about whether people are getting the right information in a format they understand.”
Bradford says that “certainly, armed with all the facts, more folks ought to be choosing to get vaccinated,” adding that he thinks mandatory vaccine requirements set out by businesses and employers will help to increase uptake in his ward.
Alamyar, however, says that his team hasn’t encountered significant hesitancy towards vaccinations.
“We haven't really run into vaccine hesitancy ... Most of the time, when we do outreach, we receive positive feedback from residents,” he said.
Instead, he says residents are hesitant not towards the vaccines, but more often, the government and the messaging put forward by the government throughout the pandemic.
“It's generally a lack of trust in the government and the way government has been messaging,” Alamyar said. “Our team really tries to respond to that by giving [the community] tools and resources to make sure they can make their own decision.”
Reasoning aside, the efforts to increase uptake are continuing, says Bradford.
“Just last weekend the city's VAXX25 campaign saw at least one pop-up in every city ward, including multiple serving Taylor-Massey,” he said.
“We've also had multiple pop-up clinics in subway stations to reduce every possible barrier to getting a vaccine.”
Alaymar says that his team will continue to work diligently to provide resources and information to their community, but that he also hopes vaccine mandates will help increase uptake in Taylor-Massey.
“My hope would be more regulations and more government mandates for vaccines,” he said. "I can't think of anything else we could do that we haven't done."
“I'm a strong believer that most people are open to the idea — they just might need some time or more information to just to get them there.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL has suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
New charges for Ont. woman who previously admitted to defrauding doulas
The Brantford, Ont. woman who was previously sentenced to house arrest after admitting to deceiving doulas has been charged again in connection to a new victim.