TORONTO – With pop-up vaccination clinics mostly open to adults in hotspot areas, Canada Post (CP) is taking it one step further. Together with Public health partners, CP is making vaccines more accessible to its employees.
Now that more that half of Toronto residents aged 18 and over have received at least one shot, the opportunity for vaccination is coming to employees at Canada Post.
Phil Legault, a spokesperson from Canada Post, confirmed to Corriere Canadese that: “Canada Post is working with Toronto Public Health and the Ontario Ministry of Health to offer a mobile vaccination clinic on May 18 and 19 at the York Delivery Centre”.
The two-day clinic, located at 1860 Midland Ave., will be open to all employees and contractors of the following facilities: 280 Progress, York Delivery Centre and Depot 11. The on-site clinic is coordinated by the Ontario Ministry of Health and is part of the mobile clinic strategy.
An email sent to Canada Post staff late last week, advised team leaders to share the information with employees of the designated areas listed above. All employees who have not yet received a first dose of vaccine and are interested in getting vaccinated, were asked to sign up.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) who represent about 50,000 CP workers across the country has advocated for months that on-site vaccine clinics be set up at Canada Post facilities.
Earlier this year, more than 200 employees at a postal plant in Mississauga tested positive for Covid-19. One employee died after contracting the virus. A separate outbreak was declared at a facility in the Toronto’s east end. That outbreak resulted in the death of a second CP employee.
“It is imperative that all postal workers who want a vaccine, receive one as soon as possible”, said a CUPW member, not authorized to speak on behalf of the Union. “They are the frontline workers who have put their health and safety on the line so others can stay home and stay safe during the pandemic”, the member added.
According to CUPW, “the Union has asked Canada Post and the government to organize on-site vaccination clinics whenever possible”. In addition to CP’s first on-site clinic location in Toronto, another one is being organized for Mississauga’s Gateway facility in the coming days. As of going to print, CP has not yet confirmed the date for that clinic to the Corriere.