'We're trying to beat time': Mobile vaccination team hits Toronto streets
On a hot, humid day, Fred Henderson and Kofi Yeboah hover intensely over a chess board at Matty Eckler Park in Toronto’s east end. They’re mid-match, and the next move could make all the difference.
“You’re going to owe me some smokes,” quipped Henderson.
Their banter is unexpectedly interrupted by the sound of carts rattling over the jagged sidewalk leading to the concrete table where the two are seated.
“Have you been vaccinated yet?” asks someone from a distance.
The voice belongs to Ruth Reboldera, a nurse with Michael Garron Hospital. She’s accompanied by nearly a dozen of her health care colleagues who are walking the streets, offering doses of the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines to anyone willing, and eligible, to receive them.
“On average we’re getting 20-30 vaccines (administered) per day,” said Philip Anthony, manager of the East Toronto Mobile Vaccination Strategy at Michael Garron Hospital
“There’s a downstream effect to that. Every person who’s getting a vaccine is keeping their family and loved ones safer. Every little bit helps at this point in the campaign.”
Michael Garron’s mobile vaccination street team, which launched two weeks ago, comes as Canada enters its fourth wave of the pandemic, and amidst concerns that the highly-contagious Delta variant will wreak havoc on its already-burdened health care system and economy.
At the same time, Ontario is reporting its highest COVID-19 positivity rates in months, with the majority of cases affecting the unvaccinated.
Among those unvaccinated is Kofi Yeboah, who is curious enough to pause his chess game to ask questions of the mobile vaccination team. He is uncertain about the safety of vaccines.
“I want to know which vaccine you took, personally?” he asks Reboldera.
It’s situations like this where the street team shines, affording the luxury of long-form conversations not as well suited to mass vaccination clinics. After a few minutes of back-and-forth, Yeboah is assured enough to get his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
“I was hesitant at first,” he told CTV News Toronto. “I feel really good about it. I’ve been waiting this long, so this is my lucky day. I thank all these people. They’ve been so good to the community.”
Henderson, his chess opponent for the day, has just received his second dose, a great relief to him given the risk factors that come with his lifestyle. He describes himself as homeless, and distrustful of the city’s shelter system.
“For a long time I was cautious,” said Henderson, describing his feelings toward the vaccination process. “This is great, it’s so much better than having to walk two miles to Michael Garron.”
A few hundred metres from the park, the street team is knocking on doors of local businesses, offering on-the-spot vaccinations to the city’s working class. They find an eager participant in Rosita Dela Cruz. As the owner of Philippine Oriental Food Market, she’s been working six days a week since opening her store in 1972.
“This is amazing,” she said, moments after rolling up her sleeve for her second dose of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine. “I wasn’t expecting they were doing this door-to-door. I thought it was customers coming in.”
“For those who are hesitant, for those who have to work, this makes a difference,” says Reboldera. “We’re trying to beat time.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.