Toronto doctor goes above and beyond to help new mom get vaccine in 'torrential downpour'

TORONTO -

Jackie Pizzoferrato was scheduled to receive her first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at Crosstown Family Health in York on Tuesday, but the weather had other plans.

“I drove to my doctor's office and as soon as I park, it started pouring,” Pizzoferrato told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.

“With the torrential downpour, it was raining really, really hard. I didn't have the baby in the carrier, so I just didn't want to walk out in the rain … I called the doctor just to let her know I was parked outside. I just let them know that I was going to wait until the rain stopped,” she said.

The rain didn’t stop, however. In fact, the Greater Toronto Area saw thunderstorms, heavy rain, and falling branches during the Tuesday storm.

But that didn’t stop Dr. Christopher Sun from making sure his patient was vaccinated.

“They call me a few minutes later, asking ‘Do you want Dr. Sun to come out and give it to you in your car?” Pizzoferrato said

She agreed, guessing that Sun would sit in her passenger seat, but the positioning was too awkward for the doctor to reach Pizzoferrato’s left arm. Instead, Sun administered her vaccine through the window of her car in the storm.

“He stood in the pouring rain. He was drenched,” she said.

“He had the needle and the bandaid and the alcohol swab all in his hand and he was having such a hard time getting the band-aid open but he just didn't give up.”

Pizzoferrato says the experience was “surreal,” noting that when the downpour started, she didn’t know if she was meant to receive her vaccine that day.

“As soon as I got there and Sun came out, I was like ‘Oh man, this is a sign,’” she said.

Pizzoferrato says that Sun’s actions act as an example of health officials going above and beyond to get Toronto residents vaccinated.

According to the City of Toronto, 76.9 per cent of Torontonians 18 years of age or older have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination and 45.2 per cent of adults have received their first and second doses and are considered fully vaccinated.