Restrictions have eased up in Ontario, but that doesn't mean vaccinations are a thing of the past too.
As Toronto continues to adjust public health measures in accordance with the province's recommendations, the city is also now leading among COVID-19 vaccine coverage across the globe.
Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen De Villa, said in a recent press release, the 6ix is leading in vaccination coverage compared to other major international and American cities like Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles County, London, Berlin and Brussels.
Toronto Public Health found Toronto had the highest second dose coverage among these cities through publicly available data and fell just shy of tying NYC for being one of the top cities for first doses.
Graph of COVID-19 vaccine coverage across major cities around the world. Toronto Public Health
As of March 17, the city said that around 88.9% of all Torontonians aged 12 and older have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 91.5% have gotten at least one dose.
TPH also said that more than 64.5% of people who are eligible for a third dose have received one. The city noted that while third dose coverage was analyzed and compared among cities, the available data is limited since booster dose eligibility is different worldwide.
Councillor Joe Cressy tweeted that the city's "VaxTO" call centre has been working to make getting vaccines to people easier.
"While this is strong protection, we have more work to do. Our VaxTO call center is phoning 50k residents eligible for a 3rd dose. We're answering questions, booking appointments, and making it easier," Cressy tweeted.
"Team Toronto has worked hard to make sure that our city has some of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world. This world-leading vaccination effort has ensured we can move forward with the reopening getting further underway this week," Mayor John Tory said in the release.