Early Toronto data reveals inequities in vaccine uptake among children
It’s a picture of the Toronto map the city has seen before with adults: Higher vaccination rates in some wealthier neighbourhoods and in the core, compared to some lower income areas with lower rates, especially in the northwest and east.
Leaside and Forest Hill are among the top places where kids five to 11 years old have been vaccinated. Meanwhile, Beechborough-Greenbrook, near Eglinton Avenue West and Keele Street has one of the lowest rates with just 8.9 per cent.
Using data provided by Toronto Public Health, the local, a non-profit magazine created the map and discovered in the top five neighbourhoods uptake was around 65 per cent compared to 11 per cent.
It found more school cases and outbreaks are happening in the same spots as lower immunization.
“You would think those would be the areas where we should be targeting vaccination as much as possible to offer that protection, but that’s really not the case,” said Editor-in-chief of The Local Tai Huynh.
They hope the information it found can reduce inequities and be used to improve children’s access to the vaccine.
Toronto Public Health said the early data should be interpreted with caution as school-based clinics began last week and the campaign for this group started two weeks ago.
It says more data with a longer time frame will better inform efforts. In some areas, like Taylor Massey, where there was a focus had an uptake of 25 per cent.
Barriers to the vaccine can include language, transportation and misinformation said paediatric infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anna banerji.
“You try and make it as easy as possible so the people on the people sitting on the fence, the people who say it’s too much trouble, if you make it easy a lot of people will get vaccinated,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Egypt media cite progress in truce talks as Israel downplays chances of end to war with Hamas
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.