With the province opening up COVID-19 vaccine appointments for children aged five to 11 Tuesday, you may be wondering when, where and how to book a shot for your kid.
Last week, Health Canada gave the go-ahead for the use of Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine, which consists of a dose one-third the size of the adult version and will require two shots, which in Ontario will be at least eight weeks apart.
The province has received its first shipment of over 400,000 doses that are now ready to be administered through a variety of clinics.
The Star combed through all of the vaccine booking information out there to date to bring readers a comprehensive guide for those looking to vaccinate their children:
How can I book my child a shot?
Appointments can be booked through Ontario’s online COVID-19 vaccination portal for kids five to 11 that will go live at 8 a.m. on Nov. 23. Alternatively, you can call the provincial vaccine contact centre at 1-833-943-3900 to set up a vaccination. Several public health units will also offer appointments through their own booking systems, as will some pharmacies and Indigenous-led clinics. Appointments are expected to begin Nov. 25.
Where can my child get a shot?
Public health vaccine clinics will be ramping up again to accommodate kids, and when you book through the provincial system it should provide you with a location near your home.
Similar to the rollout for teens and adults, some health units may also offer walk-in or pop-up clinics. Select family doctors will have vaccines for kids. Shots will also be available at participating pharmacies.
Will my child’s school offer vaccination clinics?
Several health units, including Toronto, Peel and Durham, will incorporate school vaccination clinics in their plans to get kids the shots. Thirty high-risk neighbourhoods have been identified by Toronto Public Health for the first school clinics including Flemingdon Park, Black Creek, Malvern, and Thorncliffe Park.
Toronto Public Health says it is working to bring COVID vaccines to schools, and more information will come this week. TPH has developed a mobile school clinic model in conjunction with vaccine partners and the city’s four public school boards. Parents and guardians will be informed when there’s a clinic coming to their school.
The Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board are offering clinics starting Nov. 25.
Will there be enough pediatric doses to ensure my child can receive one?
Yes. Thousands of doses of the pediatric vaccine arrived in Canada on Sunday, with nearly three million doses expected to be delivered by week’s end, according to federal Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi. Ontario has received over 400,000 doses and expects another 600,000 on Tuesday for a total of over one million, which the province says is enough to provide every eligible child with a first dose.
Where can I get help with finding a shot?
Vaccine Hunters Canada, the volunteer army that helped teens and adults find their shots in the spring and summer, is back.
They have reactivated their Twitter and Facebook accounts to help with vaccines for kids and the rollout for third doses. They’ve also partnered with the University Health Network’s Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine, led by Dr. Andrew Boozary, to develop digital tools to improve access to COVID vaccines.
“We still feel that it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation,” said founder and director Andrew Young. “We understand that Vaccine Hunters Canada means hope to a lot of Canadians and we want to make it clear that we’re here to help.”
Said Boozary: “Postal code has been code for the structural determinants of health. Without a health equity approach, the same barriers remain in place for families and communities to access the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We simply cannot afford the access gaps we saw earlier in the rollout. Communities need to be leading in how the vaccine is making it out to children and families, and we will be working to remove whichever barriers we can.”
I live in Toronto. What’s the plan here for kids?
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Toronto Public Health’s plan includes administering shots at city clinics, doctors’ offices, hospitals, community hubs and schools, complete with “superhero selfie stations” to make the experience fun. The city is opening up 20,000 appointments for five-11-year-olds Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. There are 110 health teams and doctors providing the vaccines in their clinics.
The vaccine will be administered at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Woodbine Mall, Scarborough Town Centre, Cloverdale Mall and Mitchell Field Arena, and the hours of operation for these clinics will be extended over the next two weeks. There will also be some walk-in clinics, such as one at Humber River Hospital from Thursday Nov. 25 to Sunday Nov. 28, for kids five to 11 who live in Toronto. The first 500 kids will get a stuffed friend to take home.
What’s the plan for the rest of the GTA?
Peel, York and Durham regions each have their own pediatric rollout strategy.
Peel will make the vaccine available at mass clinics, community- and school-based clinics and through two mobile Vax Vans.
York Region is planning to offer vaccinations in certain schools, as well as through pop-up clinics and community hub clinics. It is also offering online appointment booking beginning at 8 a.m. Tuesday at york.ca/COVID19vaccine or at 1-877-464-9675.
Similarly, Durham will open appointment bookings Tuesday for slots as early as Nov. 25 at durham.ca/vaccineappointment or by phone at 1-888-444-5113. Appointments will also be offered at certain school-based clinics, which can be found at durham.ca/covidvaccines#Children-5-11.
HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
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