Select Mississauga and Brampton residents between 18 and 49 can book vaccines this week

If you are a young person living in Mississauga’s Malton or Brampton’s Bramalea neighbourhoods, you might be able to book a vaccine appointment as early as this week. 

On April 13, Premier Doug Ford provided an update to last week’s announcement that people aged 18 and over in designated hot spots, as identified by postal code, are eligible for vaccination through mobile teams and pop-up clinics in Peel (Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon) and Toronto. 

The affected postal codes can be seen below:

Ford said that starting this week, select Toronto and Peel residents between the ages of 18 and 49 can book vaccinations at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Complex in North Etobicoke. 

The clinic, which will be operated by the province, BAPS Charities, William Osler Health System and Toronto Public Health, is expected to run for three weeks. Appointment bookings will be opened through the William Osler Health System booking system to the surrounding hot spot communities and vaccinations will begin on April 14, 2021.

According to William Osler’s website, the BAPS Clinic will administer the COVID-19 vaccine to residents age 18 and older in ‘hot spot’ communities with the following first three characters of their postal code: M9R (North Etobicoke, Malton, West Woodbridge), M9V (North Etobicoke, Malton, West Woodbridge), M9W (North Etobicoke, Malton, West Woodbridge), L4T (North Etobicoke, Malton, West Woodbridge) or L6S (Bramalea). 

At the press conference, Ford confirmed that not all people between the ages of 18 and 49 who live in hot spot communities are able to book vaccination appointments at this time, saying that as more mobile clinics pop up, more information will be provided. The Province says upcoming mobile and pop-up clinics will be promoted by local public health units and will not use the provincial booking system.  

As of now, only people aged 50 or older in hotspot communities (such as Brampton and Mississauga) can use the provincial booking system. Vaccines are open to people aged 55 and older throughout Ontario at participating pharmacies, as well as at many mass vaccination clinics run by local public health units. Residents who are 55 or older can contact participating pharmacies, their public health units or local hospitals directly for information on how to book an appointment. 

The Province says that mobile teams and pop-up clinics targeting younger residents will administer vaccines in high-risk congregate settings, residential buildings, and faith-based locations in hot spot neighbourhoods. 

“As we receive more vaccines from the Federal government, it is vital that we continue to target our vaccination efforts on those most at risk,” Ford said in a statement. 

“We must get vaccines to the people in these hot spot regions as quickly as possible in order to stop the spread of this virus and prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed. This pop-up clinic shows once again how our valued community partners have stepped up and are working with local public health in our collective battle against COVID-19. This is another great example of Team Ontario at work.”

The Province said it’s also working with public health units, business groups and large employers to explore employer-operated onsite vaccination clinics, with a focus on hot spot communities at greatest risk. These clinics will be set up, operated and funded by participating employers within hot spot areas and will vaccinate employees aged 18 and over as well as members of the local and neighbouring communities. 

The Province says employers interested in hosting an onsite clinic must meet the following criteria:

• The workplace must be located within an identified hot-spot community and have had a previous COVID-19 outbreak or is at risk of an outbreak.
• The onsite clinic will vaccinate employees that cannot work at home, many of whom reside in hot-spot areas.
• The employer will also vaccinate those in the local community, either at the onsite clinic or an alternative location in consultation with the local public health unit.
• The employer will take on the responsibility of setting up, operating and funding the onsite vaccination clinic as well as the community clinics being sponsored if not onsite.

As of now, special education workers across the province and education workers in Peel and Toronto hot spots are eligible to register for vaccination by calling the provincial vaccine booking line at 1‑833‑943‑3900, or directly through public health units that are using their own system. 

Vaccinations will roll out in the near future to education workers in other hot spot communities in York, Ottawa, Hamilton, Halton and Durham. 

Phase Two of Ontario’s vaccine rollout will also prioritize individuals with the highest-risk health conditions in April 2021.