GTHA Mayors and Chairs encourage people to get vaccinated when they are eligible

HAMILTON, ON – Today, Mayors and Chairs from the 11 largest municipal governments across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area held their regular weekly meeting to discuss the ongoing response to COVID-19 across the region.

The cities represented by the GTHA Mayors and Chairs are extremely concerned about the third wave and the increasing case counts we are seeing in the region. We look forward to continuing dialogue with the province concerning public health measures as we try to win the war against this virus.

As the Province enters the second stage of the vaccine rollout, the Mayors and Chairs, who are proud to have led in the effort to administer hundreds of thousands of vaccines so far, would appreciate greater clarity on the matter of the vaccination of different groups of essential workers.

We all share the view that essential workers and vulnerable populations and communities should be prioritized for purposes of vaccine distribution. People who have no choice but to go to work are often by definition going to be placed at greater risk and we look forward to achieving greater clarification with the province to ensure we can prioritize these groups while still continuing to vaccinate progressively younger age groups.

The GTHA Mayors and Chairs urge all residents who are eligible to receive the vaccine right now to sign up for their vaccine appointment. We want residents across the GTHA to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

“COVID-19 vaccines are one of the most effective prevention tools to protect the health of individuals and the health of our communities. It is important we all, including those who have already received the vaccine, continue to follow public health guidelines and preventive health measures to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and its variants. I strongly encourage everyone to get the vaccine when it is available to you. Working together, we can protect our hospitals from being overwhelmed and keep our communities safe.”

- Mayor Fred Eisenberger