#POSTAL CODES OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO FULL#

Overall, first dose vaccination has slowed to a trickle (see scatterplot, slide 1). However, with a significant portion of the population still without a first dose, the Tracker will also keep an eye on unvaccinated pockets of the city.

#POSTAL CODES OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO FULL#

With second dose vaccination now in full swing, the Tracker will start monitoring progress on that front. Within Peel, the disparity remains stark between high-risk and low-risk areas.ДЄfter taking last week off to work with my colleague Nick Hune-Brown on an in-depth story about second doses, the Hot Spot Tracker is back in action this week. However, rates are still significantly behind those in other Delta hot spots designated by the province for accelerated second doses. Second dose vaccination has picked up in Peel. The more permanent site, operated by VHA Home HealthCare, promises to keep vaccines flowing into M9V and surrounding hot spots throughout the summer. To date, the site has been used sporadically. One recent development that will help maintain a constant local presence is the opening of a new вЂњfixedвЂќ pop-up vaccine clinic at Albion Arena in Rexdale. Regardless of the reason, one thing has been consistent throughout the vaccine rollout: hot spots need constant attention. All three postal codes are under Michael Garron HospitalвЂ™s responsibility and itвЂ™s possible that the dramatic slow down at M4H is a reflection of finite resources shifting to new areas. During the week in question, the City of Toronto added two additional hot spots to its Sprint Strategy M3C (Flemingdon Park) and M1L (Clairlea-Oakridge-Taylor Massey). One possible factor might be finite vaccination resources shifting to other nearby neighbourhoods. ItвЂ™s unclear what factors might have contributed to this slow down. IвЂ™ve spoken with several vaccine people in the area and many seemed surprised by this precipitous drop. This week? TheyвЂ™re at the bottom, 102 of 102, with a weekly gain of just 5.6 percent. They ranked first among all 102 postal codes in Toronto.

Last week, M4H (Thorncliffe Park) was the mover of the week, with a whopping 19.7 percent gain in second dose vaccination. Obviously, thereвЂ™s a lot of work to do over the summer months in these under-vaccinated pockets of the city. If this were to continue over the next 10 weeks, the Jane and Finch community would be at around 66 percent by the start of school, far below the 90 percent that some experts are saying weвЂ™ll need to get to when the Delta variant takes over. M3N, for example, is 56 percent vaccinated for at least one dose, and growing at around one percent per week. They are this weekвЂ™s postal codes of concern. There are several pockets in TorontoвЂ™s northwest where first dose coverage is stuck in the mid-50 percent: M3N (Jane-Finch), M9V (Rexdale), M9N (Jane-Lawrence), and M6M (Keele-Eglinton). Unfortunately, the percentage of the population with at least one dose has slowed even further compared to last week. Since a vaccine for use in kids under 12 is unlikely to be approved earlier than late 2021, vaccine coverage in the surrounding community will be an important factor for safe in-class learning, especially in elementary schools.

While itвЂ™s hard to think about September after the year weвЂ™ve had, what happens over the next 10 weeks will determine the kind of back-to-school weвЂ™ll have in the fall.

Postal codes of southern ontario