Vaccine portal equity issues exposed

March 16, 2021

TORONTO — Mike Schreiner released the following statement regarding the equity and accessibility issues of the government’s online booking portal:

“It is clear that the vaccine booking portal is not working for those that need it the most.

Elders trying to make appointments online are faced with error messages, and the phone line times out after 10 minutes.

And what about those who don’t have access to the internet, a phone, or a loved one to help them?

Reports that those working on the Vaccination Info and Booking lines only received two hours of training is troublesome. Undoubtedly this is leading to inconsistencies in the information that people trying to book appointments are receiving, including whether or not everyone born in 1941 is eligible.

Vaccine equity is a real problem. If the government doesn’t step up and address the booking portal accessibility issues, more people are going to suffer — especially as we head into the third wave.

Explicit efforts need to be made to reach out to those who don’t have access to the internet or to a phone, or who face a language barrier. We cannot continue to leave our most vulnerable behind.”

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