Ontario's wealthiest zones get head start on second doses, data shows
A major push is under way to get vaccines to those more at risk as the Delta variant spreads through parts of Ontario, but new data shows that some of the people who are most in need appear to be falling behind.
Despite strategies to make sure vulnerable communities get more vaccines first, data shows that wealthier postal codes appear to be sprinting ahead, leaving poorer and more racialized communities playing catch-up.
“Immunization coverage isn’t what it ought to be,” said Dr. Akwatu Khenti of the Black Scientists’ Task Force on Vaccine Equity. “We need to amplify the efforts to protect this population that is at risk.”
In order to combat the spread of the Delta variant, Ontario prioritized several regions to receive more second doses, including Toronto, Peel Region, Halton and York Region.
“We know, from our experts, they say the rate of transmission is higher, and the impacts on hospitalization is higher than the UK variant,” Ontario’s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. David Williams, told reporter Monday.
The independent research organization ICES breaks down the vaccination rates and COVID-19 spread by postal code. For the first time last week, the agency reported out statistics on second doses of vaccines as of June 7, 2021.
Among the targeted regions, wealthier postal codes appear to have a head start: the farthest ahead is the postal code zone of M5P that includes parts of Forest Hill, at 17.55 per cent fully vaccinated.
Farthest behind includes M3N, which includes the area around Jane and Finch, at 4.97 per cent, and M9V, the area that includes Rexdale, sits at 4.58 per cent.
Those areas include racialized people, poorer people, and people who may be at greater risk in the first place, said Dr. David Burt of the Black Scientists’ Task Force on Vaccine Equity.
“Many are in the service industry, they can’t work from home, they have to take public transit, they have to work in the health-care sector,” Dr. Burt said.
The picture is similar to the inequity of the first stage of the vaccine rollout, and those who got their first doses first are now eligible earlier for their second doses.
Toronto’s Sprint Strategy is targeting certain areas to undo the imbalance, and other pop-up clinics like ones operated by the Scarborough Health Network are targeting people who live and work in certain high-risk postal codes.
A pop-up at Agincourt Collegiate Institute on Tuesday from noon to 8 p.m. will give second doses of Pfizer to people in the M1B, M1G, M1J and M1S postal codes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
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.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
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 suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.