A weekend-long COVID-19 vaccine clinic is coming to Mel Lastman Square.

On Tuesday, Mayor John Tory announced “#VaxTheNorth”, a special weekend-long vaccination clinic which will take place on Saturday, July 24 and Sunday, July 25.

The North York pop-up is meant to help bolster COVID-19 vaccine rates in the area, particularly within the 18 to 45 age group, which is currently experiencing the biggest lag in vaccinations, according to the city.

“With the aim of vaccinating thousands of local residents through this initiative, the pop-up will be open for first and second dose walk-ins, as well as scheduled vaccination appointments that can be booked through the North York Toronto Health Partners booking website,” states the city.

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The city said its VaxTO campaign will provide support through locally focused telephone voice broadcasts, digital advertising and on-the-ground ambassadors. Based on neighbourhood-level data, outreach will be targeted in North York areas with postal codes starting with M2J, M2N, M2M, M2R and M3A.

“Even as the percentage of vaccinated Torontonians increase, we cannot ignore areas of the city that have low uptake,” said Mayor Tory.

“We’re using Toronto Public Health data to help us identify where in the city we need to give specific attention. In the case of #VaxTheNorth, we’re lucky to have strong partners in the community to help bring this exciting clinic to the heart of North York. I continue to encourage all residents in North York and right across the city to get vaccinated – first and second doses – so we can bring this pandemic to an end.”

Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health, said this is the next step in the city’s efforts to get Toronto vaccinated.

“It’s all hands on deck to bring vaccines directly to North York neighbourhoods and communities,” said Cressy.

#VaxTheNorth will take place at Mel Lastman Square, 5100 Yonge Street, starting Saturday morning, and will run daily from 8:30 am to 10:30 pm.