Brampton — Peel’s Ontario Khalsa Darbar (OKD) is the latest location in the province to begin vaccinating Ontarians in select regions hard hit by COVID-19.
In plans first announced by Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, Ontario is rolling out vaccines to “hot spot” regions across the province as part of Phase Two of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan.
The OKD Community Vaccine Clinic, in partnership with the World Sikh Organization of Canada and with support from Amazon Canada, will run from May 4 — 16 and will operate between the hours of 12:00pm – 8:00 pm.
Individuals 18 or older who meet postal code requirements will be eligible to receive their vaccination and must provide a health card or other form of government-issued ID (driver’s license or passport). To book an appointment, visit peelregion.inputhealth.com
“Keeping Bramptonians safe is a priority for our government, and the expansion of mobile vaccination clinics in our community will help us turn the tide against the spread of this pandemic,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction and MPP for Brampton South.
“As much-needed vaccine supplies are delivered to Ontario, we will continue doing everything we can to ensure that more families in Brampton receive the protection they need to keep them and their loved ones healthy.”
Mobile teams and pop-up clinics like the one set up at Ontario Khalsa Darbar have been administering vaccines in high-risk congregate settings, residential buildings, and faith-based locations in hot spot neighbourhoods such as Brampton and parts of Toronto.
Through this initiative, 114 highly impacted neighbourhoods, as identified by postal code, will be reached through mass immunization clinics, mobile teams, and pop-up clinics.
“I am thrilled at the announcement of another pop-up vaccine clinic right here in Peel Region,” said Amarjot Sandhu, MPP for Brampton West.
“By getting the residents of Peel the vaccines that they need we are once again demonstrating our steadfast commitment to protecting the health and safety of those who reside in COVID-19 hotspots.”
“Having delivered 500,000 doses to date, Peel’s Community Mass Vaccination Program is expanding thanks to provincially brokered private-public partnerships. This will offer more opportunities for Peel residents to get the vaccine and help in our fight against COVID-19,” said Dr. Lawrence Loh, Medical Officer of Health, Region of Peel.
“I am grateful that these initial enterprises have stepped up to sponsor public vaccination clinics while supporting their employees who cannot work from home. These additional clinics will complement the over 100,000 doses a week that are delivered through current channels including community, pharmacy, hospital and mobile clinics in Peel.”
“Thank you to Peel Public Health and Ontario Khalsa Darbar for working together to set up this pop-up clinic” said Deepak Anand, MPP for Mississauga Malton.
“This new clinic makes vaccines more accessible to the most vulnerable in our community and this is a great example of how we can all work together to stop this wave of COVID-19.”
“Our community has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. This is why inclusive decision-making, community partnerships, and vaccination rollouts that target marginalized communities are so critical,” said Sharanjeet Kaur, Vice President Ontario of the World Sikh Organization of Canada.
“We look forward to working with the Ontario government, Peel Public Health, and Amazon in ensuring that the OKD Community Vaccine Clinic is a success as well as a model to be replicated across Ontario and Canada.”
Gurpreet Singh Bal, President of the Ontario Khalsa Darbar, added, “Gurdwaras are important hubs that service the needs of all communities. We are excited to open our doors for this innovative approach to vaccinating hot spot residents in Peel. This is our seva, or selfless service, in the Sikh spirit of sarbat da bhalla, which means may all people prosper.”
“Nothing is more important to Amazon than protecting the health and safety of our employees and the communities we serve,” said Vibhore Arora, Director, Regional Operations, Amazon Canada.
“We are proud to partner with the Ontario government, Region of Peel, Ontario Khalsa Darbar and Switch Health to sponsor the first community vaccination clinic of its kind in Ontario. Together, we are making an immediate and meaningful impact to ease the burden of COVID-19 in some of the hardest hit communities in Peel.”
Quick Facts:
• Peel Health OKD Community Vaccine Clinic Booking Portal: https://peelregion.inputhealth.com/ebooking#new/locations
• Postal code eligibility for those 18+: L4T | L4W | L4X | L4Z | L5A | L5B | L5C | L5K | L5L | L5M | L5N | L5R | L5V | L5W | L6P | L6R | L6S L6T | L6V | L6W | L6X | L6Y | L6Z | L7A | L7C
Media Contacts:
OKD/WSO
Jaskaran Sandhu
647-990-8720
jaskaransandhu@worldsikh.org
Constituency Contact Information: Sukhpal Sidhu
Senior Communications Advisor 647-824-5270
Sukhpal.sidhu@pc.ola.org