On World Health Day, Ontario Vaccination Support Council Stands Ready to Accelerate Vaccine Deployment

(Toronto – April 7, 2021) – Today, on World Health Day, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Ontario Vaccination Support Council (OVSC) sent a letter to Dr. Homer Tien, the new chair of Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution task force outlining the support the private and public sector have provided in Ontario’s vaccine distribution and rollout.

The Council leverages over 250 businesses, universities, colleges, associations, and labour unions from across the province to provide support for Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts with the ultimate goal of ending the pandemic.

“The Ontario Vaccination Support Council members are businesses, post-secondary institutions and labour unions who are ready, willing, and able to support and accelerate local vaccine deployment efforts,” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “As supply ramps up, we need an all-hands-on deck approach from Ontario’s business community to move these vaccines from freezers to arms as quickly as possible. From vaccine facilities and centres to volunteers to donations to support ride programs, we truly see Ontario chamber members stepping up to make a difference.”

The OCC continues to call on all levels of government to work together to accelerate vaccinating Ontarians, so we can fully reopen the province. As the Government of Ontario proceeds with Phase 2 of the rollout, the OVSC would like to see the earlier prioritization of essential workers who cannot work from home and are most vulnerable and at risk.

“There are so many businesses, universities, colleges, associations, and labour unis who are raising their hands and bringing private sector resources to the table in support of vaccination efforts,” said James Scongack, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs & Operational Services of Bruce Power. “The sooner we are all vaccinated, the sooner people are back to work and the economy gets moving.”

“As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout ramps up across Canada and in Ontario, building trust and confidence in vaccines will be critical for the health of Canadians and economic recovery of our country,” said Garrick Tiplady, Managing Director of Facebook Canada. “Connecting people and businesses with credible sources of information from health authorities is a key part of this work and the cross-industry collaboration enabled through the Ontario Vaccination Support Council is essential to support this process.”

Initiatives accomplished by the Council to date include:

• Establishing a directory of voluntary resources from members to help public health units more efficiently roll out vaccines in their jurisdiction. Visit the portal at https://www.vaccinesupportcouncil.com/.
• Council members have helped fund and support multiple mass vaccination facilities across Ontario.
• Several members have offered transportation support for rides to and from vaccination centers to improve accessibility.
• The Council will be doing more in the coming weeks to help address vaccine literacy and hesitancy.

Founded by the OCC, the Council is co-chaired by James Scongack, Executive-Vice President of Corporate Affairs & Operational Services at Bruce Power and Garrick Tiplady, the Managing Director of Facebook Canada.

To learn more about the OVSC, see Ontario Business Community Launches the COVID-19 Ontario Vaccination Support Council.

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About the Ontario Chamber of Commerce
For more than a century, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has been the independent, non-partisan, indispensable partner of Ontario business. The OCC’s mission is to support economic growth in Ontario by defending business priorities at Queen’s Park on behalf of its network’s diverse 60,000 members.

For more information, please contact:
Ceara Copps – Edwards
Manager, Public Affairs
cearacoppsedwards@occ.ca| Mobile: (647) 936-6734