Toronto Public Library staff are getting involved in the COVID-19 fight.

Library workers starting next week will begin contacting about 35,000 seniors to let them know they are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines and to answer their questions.

Library staff will initially be reaching out to 10,000 library users who are age 80 and over, according to the city, followed by 25,000 calls to seniors between ages of 70 and 79.

A Vaccine Equity Transportation Plan was also announced to help ensure vulnerable residents and seniors can obtain the vaccinations by removing obstacles to transportation and making it easier to travel to clinics.

Officials said starting March 29, the City will have transportation options for seniors aged 75-years-old and over by extending service hours for assisted ride services provided by community organizations.

And Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) is undertaking work to help seniors in their 83 seniors’ buildings get vaccinated without delay.

The City has reached out to 40 senior-serving organization from across Toronto, offering financial support to increase staffing and redeploy staff to reach clients and support booking of vaccine appointments over the coming weeks.

The City has offered agencies up to $10,000 to ramp up capacity for this important work from now until the end of April.

“The agencies were selected to ensure the City is reaching targeted populations, including Indigenous, Black and South Asian communities and other population groups including Hispanic, Tamil, Korean and LGBTQ2S seniors,” the city said.

More than 200 pharmacies in Toronto are offering the AstraZeneca vaccine right now and the City expects that number to grow as the Government of Ontario expands the pharmacy vaccine program.

Existing Wheel-Trans customers who are eligible for vaccination can book rides to and from their vaccine appointments by calling Wheel-Trans Reservations at 416-393-4222, seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. or online at the Wheel-Trans Self-Booking

Customers who qualify for Wheel-Trans service, and would like to arrange a trip to and from their vaccination, can apply by calling Wheel-Trans Customer Service at 416-393-4111, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The easiest ways for eligible seniors to book appointments are: online (City-operated clinics): https://covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine/

Phone (for City-operated clinics): 1-888-999-6488 (TTY 1-866-797-0007), online (hospital clinics): www.vaccineto.ca or phone (hospital clinics) at 1-888-385-1910.

“The sooner we are all vaccinated, the sooner we can bring this pandemic to an end, so when you become eligible please take steps to register and get vaccinated.” said Mayor John Tory.