This year, U of T has introduced a GO-VAXX bus at the St. George campus to encourage community members to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Each time the bus comes to campus, it parks on the corner of Willcocks Street and St. George Street.
According to U of T News, the goal of the program is “to create a safe and roomy environment to comfortably deliver vaccines to people who have yet to receive a first or second dose – or international students in need of a Health Canada-approved mRNA dose.” U of T has run similar programs in the past, such as the vaccine clinic in the exam centre that occurred over the summer.
As of November 1, 97.2 per cent of all U of T community members are fully vaccinated. The aim is to get the other 2.8 per cent fully vaccinated. Since October, the GO-VAXX bus team has been able to vaccinate more than 500 community members.
GO-VAXX buses are GO transit buses that have fully been transformed into mobile pop-up vaccine clinics. Their seats have been removed to create more space for vaccinations.
A grounds team from the U of T Facilities & Services had to develop a plan for how to accommodate the bus at its current intersection, which is a very narrow space. Stan Szwagiel, manager of grounds services at the St. George campus, noted that it was a team effort. “We rearranged the outdoor furniture and placed planters strategically to prevent cars from parking and clogging the flow of pedestrians,” he said.
The next available date to receive a dose at the GO-VAXX bus is November 24, at any time between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. Appointments for the GO-VAXX bus are not available — it accepts walk-in patients only. Currently, the GO-VAXX mobile clinic is only available on the St. George campus, but all members of the U of T community are welcome to use it.
