Our Mid-West vaccinator squads Inoculated more than 500 homebound seniors, whether it was in retirement homes like Terra Nova, apartment buildings, or on the Toronto Island. A big thank you to all who participated. Here is a story from one of those squads:

The two of us, family physician colleagues in Mid-West Toronto, are part of a team of family physicians who have volunteered to vaccinate those unable to travel to be vaccinated. Prepared with COVAX training and all the requisite equipment, our first stop is the Toronto Western Hospital Family Health Team where the clinic nurses have drawn up the exact number of doses we will need for the day, which will expire in 6 hours.

During the 15 minutes post-administration, to ensure there are no adverse events, we  are privileged to speak with the people who have let us into their homes and learn a little bit about their lives. 

We administer the vaccine to a 94-year-old woman with a recent spinal fracture who has not left her apartment in many months. Her sense of relief after receiving the vaccine s palpable. We met with an elderly father and daughter; he with disabling arthritis and she with vision impairment. She tells us about the difficulties she has encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without her father as her guide, she has been unable to navigate the hospital for regular treatments and relies on volunteers to help her find her way, with mixed results.

Our final visit for the day is at the home of a 91-year-old woman with mobility issues who lives on the top floor of a 4-storey apartment building with no elevator. She leaves a chair at each landing so she can rest on her way up or down on the few occasions when she must leave her apartment. She was concerned that we would need to walk up the four flights of stairs to her apartment, and she offered to meet us in the foyer or in the laundry room. 

All the vaccine recipients are welcoming, warm and grateful for our service. We are often their first visitors in many, many months. We are honoured to have been given this opportunity. 

Faye Goldman MD 
Ellie Morch MD