“People may get sick and die because they decided to wait”: Family doctor Ritika Goel on why the NACI’s vaccine messaging is so dangerous
"The thing to keep in mind is that this vaccine has been approved by Health Canada, and it is absolutely safe"
coronavirus
“The deaths we’re seeing in this third wave were preventable”: What it’s like to work as an ICU nurse right now
"In some of the bigger ICUs where I’ve worked, we’ve been 10 nurses short"
I lost two family members to Covid. Now I’m on a mission to build vaccine confidence in Scarborough
"Just because the system doesn't care about us doesn’t mean we have to stop caring about each other. I learned from the loss of my cousin and grandmother that I have to do this work or no one else will"
“They’re giving out vaccines like candy down there”: These Torontonians are travelling to the States to get their shots
We spoke with four vaccine border-hoppers about why they're making the trip
“I guess you could say it’s become an obsession”: Meet Bea Serdon, a.k.a. Batman, who’s booked more than 120 vaccine appointments for friends, family and total strangers
Earlier this month she posted on Facebook offering to help anyone having trouble with their quest for the shot. Now she spends hours each day scouring the web for vax vacancies
As a Syrian refugee, I lived in a hotel shelter for my first few months in Toronto. Now I work there
"I make a point of telling the clients that I'm always free if they want to talk. My job is to be there for them"
“We have entire families coming in with Covid”: This Scarborough ER doctor is working in one of the city’s raging Covid hot spots
"We’re now seeing younger, sicker people coming in, and they can crash on you quite quickly. There’s a chance you’ll end up doing CPR in the hallway"
“We’re driving dangerous behaviour indoors”: Epidemiologist Sumon Chakrabarti on why the government needs to reopen parks and other outdoor facilities
"When I saw that the government had shut down playgrounds, my first thought was, what are they thinking?"
“At this point, we’ve probably helped thousands of people book shots”: Q&A with Joshua Kalpin of Vaccine Hunters Canada, the viral website for vaccine appointment intel
"Jean Yoon from Kim’s Convenience tweeted that she was able to book her vaccine based on info she got through our Twitter feed"
“I told her the vaccine was the only way to get back to everything she misses”: How this scientist convinced her vaccine-fearing grandma to get the jab
"I heard my grandmother on the phone with her friend, saying something like, 'Oh no, there is no way I am taking that vaccine.' Of course I was like, whaaaat?????"
“We have 28 people waiting for a bed”: Q&A with Michael Warner, the Toronto doctor who’s gone viral sharing his patients’ stories
"I want to set the record straight so people understand the severity of the situation, especially when communication from the government has been inconsistent at best"
“We try to plan a route with the fewest potholes”: a Q&A with the head of a mobile vaccination team
Ruben Rodriguez, the head of Humber River Hospital's mobile vaccination clinic, says his team can vaccinate 200 people in three hours
“The last thing we want is to waste a single shot”: A Toronto Public Health manager on what it’s like to run a mass vaccination clinic
"There was one little old lady in her 90s who was so grateful to get the shot that she started to cry. It was hard not to give her a hug"
“The pilot won’t let you on the plane if you’re not dressed for survival”: This Toronto doctor travelled to Northern Ontario to vaccinate people in fly-in Indigenous reserves
"The elders were so funny. They’d say, 'The only thing we want to know is if the vaccine will improve our sex lives!'"
“Some barbers are hosting haircutting parties in their condos”: A Q&A with the hairstylist petitioning the province to reopen salons
Glassbox Barbershop's Peter Gosling on his shop's “hospital-grade” hygiene protocols, why al fresco salons are not the answer and why the dangerous haircut black market is booming
