So, you’ve become frustrated with the ongoing pandemic we’ve been in for what feels like 10 years and want to do your part with helping with the return to an essence of normalcy?
Well, getting the vaccine is one of those options, and luckily, its pretty simple to get the shot here in Toronto.
There are health centres, pharmacies, hospitals, pop up locations all over the city and within the greater Toronto area administering the COVID-19 Vaccines, all you need to do is find the one closest to you.
I can admit in the beginning it was a bit confusing, because when the vaccine first rolled out, it was only being offered first to health care workers (understandable) and then persons of a certain age, and then it turned to persons living in certain postal codes.
In addition to which, while back home the option of taking the Astra-Zeneca vaccine is available to all adults, here in Canada, it wasn't being offered as an option to anyone under the age of 30 at the time (I'm unsure if this has changed yet though.)
The options are essentially: Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. (Three which are also accepted globally for international travel.)
To my knowledge, you don’t really get to chose which vaccine you’ll be getting when you show up to the location you chose.
Especially if you book a quick appointment at a clinic or go to a pop up, essentially the dose you’ll be getting is what they’re administering for the day.
From what I've seen, most administering locations do say which vaccine(s) they'll be offering, while others, you won't find out till you get there.
The clinic I went to at Weston for example, was administering Pfizer during both times I went. Others I know were administering Moderna, but I didn't find out it was Pfizer being administered till I arrived at the location, and for both of my doses.
I'll briefly detail my experience with getting the vaccine at the Community Hub Clinic in Weston, however please note that they administered their last vaccines in this specific location back on October 23rd, 2021, so this is no longer an available location to get vaccinated.
If you're looking for a location to get your dose, whether first, second, or even third in some cases, please check out this link for more information:
You can also do a quick google search for vaccination locations in your area or with an easy commute route, to find clinics, pop ups and more administering the vaccine nearby to you. That's how I found the Community Hub Clinic.
I got both my doses in the same medical clinic 'pop up', - The Community Hub Clinic in Weston in the North York area, and the process to book an appointment was relatively easy.
I just had to select a day to see if there were any slots available (it let me book up to ten days total in advance) and once a day was selected, I picked a time, and then I was prompted to enter some simple information like my name, email address (for an email confirmation for the booking.)
At the time, the clinic was only open to those over the age of 18, who lived in a postal code beginning with M. This was when the vaccines were still in the initial rolling out phases about 2-3 months in, where people were waiting in terribly long lines for hours upon end to get vaccinated.
Booking an appointment anywhere, even if you're admitted a couple minutes past the time you booked still almost guaranteed you would be getting a dose that day, which made me feel better.
Especially since it was a pretty long commute for me because I'd still been confused about whether the areas around me were booking the vaccine according to the M postal code restriction. Some places were still only doing medical personnel and people within a certain age category that was still pretty far off from mine.
This clinic was the first I'd found relatively close to me that was going based off the M postal codes, meaning you also had to bring proof of address to show you were living in an M postal code. Proof of address documents usually accepted include a driver's license, bank statement or utility bill in your name.
Other information required was an identity document, and a consent form to taking the vaccine. I carried my passport as my identity document since I didn’t have any form of Canadian ID that would be instantly recognizable.
My passport is my least favourite identity document to carry around, but I wasn't ready to risk the chance as to whether the medical clinic would have that international ID book that the LCBO (Ontario’s liquor store) always pulls out to verify that my Trinidadian ID card is in fact, a real ID card. Ah the experiences of an international student/immigrant from a not-no-instantly-recognizable-country.
If you don’t have an OHIP health card, and as an international student you wouldn’t, it’s okay. Not having this information doesn’t get in the way of getting vaccinated.
When I got to the location, there was a bit of a line up, but the line moved relatively quickly and once I got to the front, they confirmed my name and the time of my appointment. It was for 3pm, but I didn't get to the front of the line till about 3:10pm.
I was then shown to a different section, where they confirmed my identity by having a look at my passport, told me which vaccine they would be administering for the day (which was Pfizer) and I was guided inside, where my passport was checked again, and then they guided me to a line up.
I was also handed a general COVID FAQ Paper to read to pass the time in the line.
There were a number of doctors and nurses inside the very social distanced room. When I got to the front of the line, a nurse called me over to sit down and have a brief chat, confirm my identity once again, and told me more about the vaccine they would be administering for the day.
There is some time to ask some questions if you have any, and in my experience both times, both nurses were extremely kind and patient, because I let them know upfront that I have the biggest irrational fear of needles.
Like I'm ashamed to say that the fear of getting stabbed with the needle was my biggest irrational fear regarding COVID, and had frozen me in my path and delayed my getting the vaccine for a brief moment.
I can confidently say though, again, coming from someone who has one of the biggest fears of needles, that the needle itself, that was probably the most painless vaccine, or needle being jabbed in my body I’ve ever experienced in my 20+ years of living on this earth, trust me.
I don’t know how to explain how big my irrational fear of needles is, like of my top list of irrational things, needles takes a top three.
I psyched myself out watching all those videos of friends, family and random people getting the vaccine, and the needle looked so long and painful, and it just made my blood crawl.
There is some time to ask some questions if you have any, and in my experience both times, both nurses were extremely kind and patient, because I let them know upfront that I have the biggest irrational fear of needles.
But fast forward to my first jab, and the first time a needle had come into contact with my skin in a while, it was relatively painless.
I felt the smallest ever so slightest pinch when the nurse began counting down, but before I could even begin to hold my breath, and shut my eyes, it was over.
Literally, I kid you not, no more than 3 seconds if so much.
And that was it, the first dose done.
My pain tolerance is almost non-existent if that helps you understand just how painless it really is.
They put some pressure where they administered the vaccine and put a bandage over it, and then I was guided to the sit down/monitoring area to wait for 15 minutes to see if there were any side effects.
They put a sticker with the time on it stating when I would be good to get up in case I forgot, and in that clinic was the biggest clock on the wall, so I couldn't miss it even if I wanted to.
By the time the 15 minutes was up, I felt no different. I was guided to the last stop where they confirm your identity one last time and email address, and then they print out the receipt as proof of your dose, which is also emailed to you for your convenience.
This is what the officially accepted receipt looks like:
Since it was my first dose, the clinic automatically booked my second dose in accordance with the advised waiting time between doses, and that was it, super easy.
The only thing I didn’t like is that the specific clinic I went to wasn’t giving out “I got my COVID-19 vaccine” sticker like a lot of other places were, but obviously the sticker isn't the most important take away from the day, it was actually getting the vaccine.
With the first dose, my only 'major' side effect was just how sore my arm was.
After a few hours I couldn’t move it at all. It was rock hard, and any slight movement was a bit painful, but it all wore off after a couple hours, and by the end of the next day it was almost like I never got a 'lil jook' as we would say back home.
I had a similar experience with the second dose in terms of the side effects.
Major arm soreness, and I also had some fatigue because I knocked out pretty early that night, but other than that, it’s almost like nothing’s changed.
I joked with my parents that they probably jook (Trini slang for injected) me with a placebo but I’m really hoping that isn’t the case given how sore my arm was both times.
Of my two arms, I got in my left arm, thinking that because I’m right handed, it made more sense, only to realize just how much I also use my left arm.
Personally, I would say one of the biggest nuances of getting the vaccine in Toronto as an international student is how we've been left out of consideration regarding the Vaccine Passport project that they've recently rolled out in Ontario, where Ontarians and anyone with OHIP can now search their information in the online database to download their proof of vaccination receipts to have a Digital copy to present when requested.
I'm unsure of what it's like in other provinces, but if anyone can shed some light on their experience as an international student where any vaccine mandates have rolled out in provinces outside of Ontario, please let me know!
Here in Ontario however, given that I didn't have OHIP, or an OHIP card when I went for my vaccine, I can't search for my proof of vaccine online.
Again, you DO NOT need to have OHIP to get the vaccine.
The vaccine is both free and available to every single person of age, regardless of their status in Canada.
It's just that the whole Digital proof of vaccination, where people can search their receipts online and can easily pull up their proof of vaccine to show when they go to places where proof of vaccination is required, such as cinemas, the gym, restaurants and more, it just isn't that simple for us as immigrants.
At the clinic they provided me with not only physical receipts, they also emailed copies of these me, but I've found that people are less suspicious if I just carry the physical copies of the receipt with me rather than the emails. This is because there are persons who've photoshopped, and altered vaccine receipts to say they've been vaccinated, when they haven't.
The physical receipts are just two pieces of paper that are pretty flimsy, so in a worse-case scenario, say you spill water on them, well that'll be the end of that.
I'm hoping that they will also soon announce a way all persons who don't have OHIP, or didn't have it at the time can also be provided with this online digital receipt all other Ontarians have access to.
However, I'm not holding out on it too much because this is just another one of the downsides of being an immigrant. The unfortunate reality is that we're not a main priority, rather sometimes it feels as though we're an afterthought, and have to do what we can do with what we're given (or not given) to live here comfortably.
My suggestion to everyone with the paper receipts from the places your vaccine was administered, laminate them
Try and make them more durable, longer lasting, and just give yourself that peace of mind, because who knows when another option for those without OHIP will be added to the whole vaccine Passport system. I've been trying to do that to my receipts but I keep forgetting.
There is also the added frustration of international students who received their vaccines outside of Canada, and will have a foreign proof of vaccination, similarly to having a foreign ID card.
From my knowledge, International students tend to have an International immunization card or something similar, such as they do back home in Trinidad and Tobago and other islands within the region. Overall, something as proof of having received the two vaccine doses, that does not look like the receipt provided by the Ministry of Health for those who were vaccinated within Canada.
The main concern here is that for international travel, Canada only recognizes Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Astrazeneca vaccines. Once your proof of vaccination document states you've received one of these 4 vaccines, it should be accepted if you're asked to present it, however I have heard persons having experiences with staff in certain locations not accepting it solely because they don't recognize it. Here we have exhibit G, another frustrating layer of being an international student.
In addition, people have also received other vaccines outside of the list of vaccines recognized by Canada. Such as Sinopharm, a Chinese variant of the vaccine which is popularly administered in Trinidad and other Caribbean islands for example. This vaccine, and others not part of the four that make the accepted vaccine list, are not authorized by the Ministry of Health in Canada.
If you find yourself in this position, having received a vaccine not authorised by the Canadian Ministry of health, according to the government of Canada, you should be administered one additional dose of one of Canada's recognised vaccines (this is for persons planning to live, work or study in Canada for a longer period of time).
For more information about persons arriving in Canada having received vaccines not authorised by the Canadian Ministry of Health, please check this link out for more information: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/guidance-documents/recommendations-those-vaccinated-with-vaccines-not-authorized-health-canada-staying-canada-live-work-study.html
UPDATE! As of Tuesday November 30th, 2021, Sinopharm has been added to the list of vaccines accepted by the Canadian Government.
I understand there is still a lot of concern around the vaccine, in terms how 'soon' it was made available, the ingredients used, and just the general spread of mass hysteria and misinformation.
However, there are so many trusted, and valid sources to do proper research, to really help understand how taking the vaccine is just one way to help stop the spread of this virus that has put the world in a literal halt, while also protecting not only yourself, but those around you, reducing your chances of being admitted to the hospital should you contract the virus, or the most grim result; Death.
Many of us understand, and have grown to accept that things won’t return 100% back to what we'd grown to consider as 'normal',
If anything, there were a lot of things that needed to change anyway that have been throw into perspective, but the vaccine is just one way to help keep yourself, your loved ones, and the public safe as we continue navigating through these continuously uncertain times.
Do your research, ask your questions, get the shot!
Continue staying safe everyone!