Decide clinic location with community to ensure

Evaluating & Improving COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics For

clinics are accessible for multi-ethnic groups and

essential workers. Further, ensuring clinic location

Racialized Youth In Toronto’s COVID-19 Hotspots does not impede on the daily livelihoods of residents.
"I think location wise it would be more relevant, for

example, if they had a vaccine pop-up at Driftwood. I think

Caitlin Arizala, Abigail Ralph, Omer Jamal, Richelle Nelson; supervised by Dr. Notisha Massaquoi │Instagram: @vaccineequityproject that is a much more accessible area compared to the back

of a building on a hill in front of all of the construction. They

could have been more considerate about the construction

and the timing.” - Participant 7

Background Results
"Where I live in Rexdale is very diverse and there are a lot

In April 2021, first-dose COVID-19 vaccines were prioritized to

In total, we interviewed 12 student participants aged
Figure 1. Racial/ Ethnic Group of factory workers who work late hours. Having a clinic
COVID-19 hotspots which majorly house low-income,
17-22 of diverse racial/ ethnic backgrounds (see Fig. 1).
of Student Participants that is open late or is for diverse groups would be helpful."

- Participant 12
racialized, essential workers (1). Canada public health
90% of participants had 2 doses
3
of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Participant Count
emphasized a equity-rooted vaccine rollout strategy (2).
Beyond vaccine clinics, the necessity of services

Since March 2021, Jane-Finch and Rexdale remain Toronto

80% of participants identify as a woman. 2 6
tackling the social determinants of health to promote

COVID-19 hotspots (3). They are also highly racialized, low-

Participants shared their COVID-19 vaccine clinic
vaccination and COVID-19 recovery.
income communities (3). experiences from March to December 2021.
1 Along with improving clinics, participants call for increased mental health

Data on the experiences of racialized, hotspot-residing youth

To supplement the experiences of students, we
supports, financial aid, transportation/ food vouchers for clinic attendees,

accessing these mobile and pop-up vaccine clinics is scarce. interviewed 4 community leaders (2 from Rexdale and
and tackling systemic racism which manifests as racialized folx

0 t t

2 from Jane-Finch) directly responsible for COVID-19

th as Eas tin- ut
h e distrusting biomedical healthcare.
o u t - E - L a n o d dl rn
S s n a S i
vaccine rollout in their community. i a n- Ea rica s ia
n
ric n- M aste
Research Questions f e i a
As A A
Am As
E

Racial/ Ethnic Group Conclusion

Using Jane-Finch & Rexdale as a case study:
Key Themes & Recommendations
What are the experiences of racialized postsecondary
Findings reveal that receiving a vaccine is a quick and easy process, but

1 students who reside in COVID-19 hotspots accessing

We extracted 6 key recommendations to improve vaccine clinics in hotspot,
is made inaccessible through clinic miscommunication/ lack of

vaccines from pop-up and mobile vaccine clinics? 1 racialized Toronto communities: communication, disorganization, and location. Systemic barriers to clinic

access were created through vaccine misinformation, experiences of

How can COVID-19 pop-up and mobile vaccine clinics in

2 Focus on making vaccine clinics quick by tackling long wait times, clinic
systemic racism in healthcare, and inaccessible vaccine booking

hotspot neighbourhoods be improved? 1 processes.

2 disorganization, and creating easy to navigate vaccine booking systems. -----

How do COVID-19 vaccine clinics respond to inequities

Findings suggest that Ontario's first-dose vaccine rollout strategy to
3 All participants shared that although getting the vaccine was straightforward and fast, the primary

experienced by racialized, youth residents of hotspot,

COVID-19 hotspots prioritized mass immunization through a top-down

Toronto neighbourhoods? 3 shortcomings of pop-up and mobile vaccine clinics are organization related. approach. Participants reveal this led to understaffed and disorganized

“I also felt like it was a bit disorganized. I waited 5 hours because you can be the
vaccine clinics which failed to center community needs or respond to the

first in line, but there'd be people who just unexpectedly get to cut in front...It was
social determinants restricting community vaccination.
Methods
also freezing & my family was waiting outside for hours.” - Participant 1

1 Interview Guide Development

by conducting an informal environmental scan of present vaccine policies.
2 Heavily promote vaccine clinics using social media and targeted advertising. Next Steps
2 Student Participant Recruitment (n=12) Findings are presently used by the Jane-Finch Center, Black Creek

70% of participants identify that without a point of access or immediate contact aware of vaccine

through Instagram ads & snowball sampling. CHC, & The Canadian Youth Roundtable on Health
6 participants were recruited from both communities (n=12) on a first come,
clinics, they would not have been able to get vaccinated. All participants recommend posting youth-
----

first serve basis. oriented vaccine information on Instagram, Snapchat, the TTC, or local public space. Our findings are preliminary and call for enhanced race-based &

youth-focused COVID-19 policies and data.

Inclusion Criteria
1. Jane-Finch (postal codes: M3N, M3J, and M3L) and Rexdale (postal
3 Have vaccine clinics which are for community & led by community.
codes: M3M, M9W, and M9V) residents
2. Self-identify as a person of colour All participants who used a cultural or religious specific vaccinations services discussed how it made
References
3. Currently enrolled in postsecondary school the vaccination process easier and made them feel more comfortable.
4. Have at least 1 dose of any COVID-19 vaccine from a pop-up or
1. Government of Ontario. Ontario's COVID-19 vaccination plan [Internet]. COVID-19. The

"I felt more comfortable not dealing with white men or women. I felt more like I was
Government of Ontario; 2021 [cited 2022Mar28]. Available from: https://covid-

mobile vaccine clinic in their area of residence

part of my community when I was getting my vaccine. The one that happened at the
19.ontario.ca/ontarios-covid-19-vaccination-plan

Community Leader Recruitment (n=4) 2. Canada Public Health Association. Government of Canada [Internet]. From risk to resilience:

3 mosque, seeing hijabi doctors in that space made me comfortable.” - Participant 7

An equity approach to COVID-19 – The Chief Public Health Officer of Canada's Report on the

through directly emailing community leaders. State of Public Health in Canada 2020 - Canada.ca. Gouvernement du Canada; 2021 [cited

The inclusion criteria is to be an employee at a Rexdale or Jane-Finch

2022Mar28]. Available from:https://www.canada.ca/en/publichealth/
4 Combat vaccination fear/ hesitancy & foster community by creating a
corporate/publications/chief-public-health-officer-reports-state-public-
community health center directly responsible for COVID-19 vaccine rollout. 2 health-canada/from-risk-resilience-equity-approach-covid-19.html
community leaders were recruited from both communities (n=4).
welcoming, fun, and supportive vaccine clinic.
3. Ontario Ministry of Health,The Public Health Case and Contact

All participants share that friendly staff who are receptive to questions eased vaccine hesitancy/fear. Management Solution. COVID-19 Neighbourhood Cases and

4 1-hour semi-structured, qualitative interviews over Zoom Rates (Archived) [Internet]. COVID-19 Neighbourhood Map. The

70% of participants ask for continued vaccine clinics as a site of community gathering. City of Toronto; 2020 [cited 2022Mar28]. Available from:

facilitated by 2 investigators.
“It was very nice because they had staff that were supporting with medical &
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/tphseu/viz/COVID-19-

PublicFacingMap/MapDashboard
5 Thematic analysis of interview transcripts to
needle anxiety. And they also had entertainment and giveaways on site. I think

extract recurrent themes this kind of environment makes the experience a lot less scary and foreign to a
SCAN ME to

lot of people.” - Participant 9 learn more!