The Toronto Raptors were the only team in the National Basketball Association not to play in its home arena this season, due to Covid-19 restrictions. On Sunday, they’re handing over the venue to health authorities to smash Canada’s one-day record for vaccinations at a single site.
About 25,000 people have appointments for the clinic at the Scotiabank Arena, located in the city’s financial district. Joe Cressy, the chair of the city’s board of health, has claimed it’s bigger than any clinic in the world.
The Texas Motor Speedway recorded more than 17,000 shots on one day in April, and other sports venues including Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles have been used for mass vaccinations.
Canada’s vaccination campaign got off to a slow start as the country struggled to get enough supply. In the middle of May, only 3% of residents had been fully vaccinated.
But the pace has accelerated as more shipments of Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. vaccines arrived, and about one-quarter of the population has now received two shots. Some economists have estimated Canada will have 75% of its population fully vaccinated by late July or August.
That’s putting pressure on the government of Justin Trudeau to ease border restrictions that have barred tourists and many other travelers since the pandemic began -- and forced the Raptors and baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays to play their home games at U.S. stadiums.
