The City of Toronto is launching upcoming parent surveys, town halls, and education opportunities to help families get ready for COVID-19 vaccination of children.
The proposed vaccines will be for children between the ages of five to 11. Ontario is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Health to vaccinate this age group.
Team Toronto, the task force that continues to set up accessible mobile vaccine spots around the city, is hoping to build confidence in the vaccine distribution for children and ease concerns.
Their efforts include proactively conducting further research and education sessions, according to a recent press release.
The survey is being distributed by Toronto Public Health and the City of Toronto’s VAX TO campaign team through online services.
According to a recent press release, the city is hoping the survey will help the city better understand parents’ intent to vaccinate their children, how they would prefer to have their children receive their COVID-19 vaccine, and to obtain information on socio-demographic factors such as race and income.
This will help ensure a focused and effective vaccination campaign, the press release reads.
The survey is available online until Nov. 7, and it includes 15 questions that will be sent directly to parents and guardians through Toronto’s school boards and will be available in multiple languages.
In preparation for the vaccination campaign, Toronto Public Health plans to host a series of about 15 outreach and educational town halls and webinars for parents, newcomers, partners in the child and family Services sector, community agencies and ambassadors.
Additional parent and caregiver town halls, as well as targeted multilingual and neighbourhood-based telephone town halls will be announced in the coming weeks.
The City of Toronto is hoping the survey will help parents and guardians address any concerns about children getting vaccinated, and that further town halls and education sessions will build confidence in effiacy of the vaccine. Photo courtesy of John Tory's Twitter account.
Toronto Mayor John Tory spoke with the media on Friday about the survey, announcing the distribution of the surveys and how it will address concerns or questions that parents or guadrians may have prior to children getting vaccinated.
Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa also commented on the preparation for children to be vaccinated, saying, "Toronto Public Health, our health care and community partners are working quickly and collaboratively on COVID-19 vaccination plans for five to 11 year olds in Toronto. When vaccines are approved for use – and when we have supply – we will ensure that we bring every resource to bear on this critical component of the vaccination campaign.”
Further, Spadina Fort York city councillor and Chair of Toronto’s Board of Health Joe Cressy said,
"At every stage of our immunization campaign, connecting with people on the ground has been critical to our success. Now, as we prepare for the rollout of vaccines to children age five to 11, we're committed to engaging directly with parents, families, and community leaders to have active conversations about vaccinations for kids."
Cressy said he hopes the survey will continue to build confidence in the importance of getting all residents vaccinated and wants to ensure all information is accessible to all neighbourhoods.
In the past two weeks, the United States recently approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for children.
More details are to follow on Canada and Toronto’s approval.
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