Item - 2021.HL32.2

The Board of Health:

1.  Received the report (November 22, 2021) from the Medical Officer of Health and the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration for information.

The Board of Health considered Items HL32.1 and HL32.2 together.

The Deputy Medical Officer of Health gave a presentation on Response to COVID-19: December 2021 Update.

The Community Immunization Engagement and Mobilization Plan is a key part of the City's COVID-19 Vaccination Program. It leverages community expertise and partnerships through Vaccine Engagement Teams to facilitate and promote equitable vaccine uptake across Toronto. Overall, the preliminary evaluation found that Vaccine Engagement Teams have been an effective strategy for increasing vaccine confidence, access, and uptake among diverse communities across Toronto, having engaged over 800,000 community members since April 2021.  

Toronto Public Health and Social Development, Finance and Administration have identified a continued need for equity-focused outreach to continue. Prioritizing of populations most impacted by COVID-19 and with lowest vaccine uptake is necessary to meet the City and the Province's 90 percent vaccine target, and to address the developing challenges associated with vaccine certification, immunization of children under the age of 12 and provision of third and booster doses to those who are eligible. Accordingly, the Community Immunization Engagement and Mobilization Plan will be extended for an additional six months, from January 1 to July 1, 2022.