A pop-up vaccination program expands this week with more Toronto District School Board locations set to provide COVID-19 shots for students and their families.
An email sent to parents identified clinics to be held at the following locations by appointment only:
- St Oscar Romero Catholic Secondary School (Jan. 27)
- Bishop Allen Academy in Etobicoke (Jan. 29)
Ilknur Cil, a mother of two children aged 9 and 13, said pop-up vaccination clinics at TDSB schools are “useful.” “I consider getting a vaccine here. Its advantages are easy of access for parents who are not still fully vaccinated,” said Cil whose home is close to those clinics in Etobicoke.
Children aged 5 to 11 will be eligible to get vaccinated and can receive their first or second dose vaccination in those centres. Students who are older than 11, their parents, as well as school staff and their family members can receive their first or second dose. Boosters would be available for anyone more than 18 years of age.
Ontario confirmed 486 cases in youth and children under the age of 19 on Tuesday.
Toronto parent Zehra Seki said that the pop-up school clinics have advantages and disadvantages.
“It is an initiative that will facilitate the work of parents who want to have a vaccination in terms of time and access point,” Seki said.
That might be beneficial especially for school staff who have not been vaccinated yet. On the other hand, kids can be affected negatively by the existence of those school clinics.
“It can have disadvantageous because it might increase the contamination there and may have psychological effects on children,” said Seki, who has children ages six, seven, and nine.
With the in-person education started, the rapid spread of COVID among children, and the usage of schools as a clinical centre also worried some parents. “The rate of COVID spread may increase due to the increase in the number of people in the school,” Cil said.
According to the TDSB 90.5 per cent of school staff, 37,909 individuals have been vaccinated so far.