Covid vaccination and information presentations

This morning Dr. Etches and our GM of emergency services Anthony Di Monte presented the latest information we have on vaccination efforts. The clear message that I heard was that older residents in neighbourhoods that are higher risk will be a key priority in the coming months. Multiple clinics are planned to serve those communities as well as ongoing mobile clinics. The presentations outline how the City's efforts will align with Provincial direction. View those documents by clicking the .pdfs below.

Dr. Etches also presented her concerns about any further openings or loosening of restrictions, and warned that we may well be heading back into more lockdowns as the city is in the risk of going back into the red zone. Those discussions with the Province will continue through next week.

I continue to be confident in the City's efforts to support vaccination. As quickly as vaccine doses are coming into the city, they're going into arms. It was interesting to note this morning that while the Province intends to have a registration system online by mid-March, the absence of that won't stop the City from continuing operations with back-up plans in place. Everything I've seen so far is that our staff have planned well for vaccination, subject to the availabiity of doses and leadership from the Province.

We need more doses. Dr. Etches expressed her hope that that will be faster than I think many of us are expecting. I hope she's right.