By Sean Delaney
The Emery Village BIA, with the support of Toronto Public Health, is working to bring Mobile Vaccination Clinics to the doorstep of Emery Businesses and their employees.
The clinics will be offered between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., and if needed, extended hours for night shift employees can be arranged as well.
“Part of our strategy over the last 7 months was to reach those who have not been able to receive a first or second dose because they were unable to because of work scheduling or shift work, language barrier, fear, lack of transportation, or any other obstacle,” said BIA executive director Sandra Farina.
The Emery Village region is a designated “Red Zone”, or one of the hardest hit in the GTA. The statistics show that removing potential barriers and bringing vaccines directly to the businesses and workplaces can lead to an increased uptake of the vaccines.
Introducing the mobile option helps businesses and employees acquire the protection they need for themselves, their families, and the community at large.
With many of Emery’s workers doing shift work, or even two jobs, as well as many having children at home alone during lockdown, lining up for hours at a daytime vaccination clinic where lines extended for blocks, and where many people did not have the possibility or physical ability to be able to stand in lines for hours and hours, could prevent them from getting the vaccine altogether. The BIA saw the need for vaccines brought to businesses, and immediately initiated planning to get them on the road.
“Whatever their personal reasons or challenges were, we were always looking for ways to make it easier for not only the employer but also the employee,” Farina said.
In other words, today, if you cannot get to the vaccine, there exists a way to have it brought to you.
Realizing that the vaccine remains a very personal issue for some, with many residents continuing to be nervous or having mixed feelings about the vaccines, the Emery Village BIA is reaching out to all of its Emery business members to see if they would have any employees both existing or recently hired that still require first and/or second vaccination who want the help of and on-site mobile vaccination space. These spaces are provided in the comfort of their workplace through Toronto Public Health.
It is not a political issue for the BIA, but a handout to businesses who need the help.
“This is just one way to ensure all businesses, their employees, their loved ones, and our Emery community have access to the best protection against COVID-19 and its variants,” Farina said. “If you haven’t already done so, please get fully vaccinated as soon as possible to protect yourself and our city’s progress towards ending this pandemic.”
For more information or to request to host a mobile vaccination clinic at your business you can visit the BIA website at: www.emeryvillagebia.ca/TOvaccineclinics
Or call: 416-744-7242