Volunteer group returns to help get Canadian kids vaccinated

Nov 22 2021, 4:36 pm

A group of volunteers who helped thousands of Canadians get vaccinated are back.

Earlier this year, Vaccine Hunters launched an online tool, posted updates on Twitter and Facebook, and created a discord server to help Canadians find available vaccine appointments.

Now they’re back to help parents book appointments for eligible children.

Their return is sure to be met with sighs of relief from parents who can start booking vaccine appointments for eligible children as early as Tuesday.

For their temporary return, they’ve partnered with University Health Network’s (UHN) Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine. The partnership works to create more tools and improve access to vaccines. It also provides digital resources and support to those who need it, the group said in a press release.

Vaccine Hunters already offer a number of tools for people looking to vaccinate themselves or their kids. Appointments can be found using their dose date calendar, and there are a number of resources for frequently asked questions people might have about getting vaccinated.

“We are thrilled to come back and help even more Canadians get vaccinated, especially to do so alongside the Centre for Social Medicine,” Andrew Young, founder and director of Vaccine Hunters Canada, said in the press release.

Young added that the partnership would help connect Vaccine Hunters directly to those who need help finding vaccines.

The partnership with UHN’s Centre for Social Medicine helps to eliminate health inequities. The COVID-19 pandemic showed discrepancies in health care coverage as low-income communities were hit harder by the virus and had less access to tests, sick days, and vaccines. Nearly two years into the pandemic, Canadians with lower incomes are still disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

“With such long-standing health inequities, every part of our system needs to pull together to prioritize families and communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” Dr. Andrew Boozary, executive director of the University Health Network’s (UHN) Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine, said in the press release.

The group posts information for all provinces and territories in Canada, so anyone can access their servers for help. The group regularly posts updates to their Twitter and additional resources to their website.

Brooke TaylorBrooke Taylor

+ News
+ Coronavirus
ADVERTISEMENT