Toronto Announces Plan To Vaccinate All Raccoons

By Scott Slute

Toronto - The city of Toronto has made a pandemic first by announcing their intent to administer COVID-19 vaccinations to at least 85% of all raccoons by the end of the year.

Following a successful human vaccination campaign that has to-date reached an 80% fully vaccinated population, the city is looking to now expand to other animals including toddlers and the city’s beloved trash pandas.

“We’re not sure if raccoons can pass COVID on to humans, or frankly if they can even contract the virus. But we’re not willing to take even a single risk when it comes to battling this pandemic,” Toronto’s Top Doctor Eileen di Villa announced.

The initiative has been named “RaccinationTO” and will be accompanied by a city-wide campaign featuring billboards and transit ads. The initiative will see several mass raccoon vaccination sites popping up at local parks, underpasses and dumpsters behind restaurants. Human residents are also encouraged to call 3-1-1 if they spot a raccoon in their back yard so city officials can rush over to administer the vaccine before the raccoon scurries up onto the garage roof.

Some opponents to the initiative are arguing that it’s wasteful to use vaccines on the raccoons when human vaccination still hasn’t reached 100%, along with Health Canada recommending booster shots for some. However, RaccinationTO says they have a solution to this problem.

“Canada purchased millions of Johnson and Johnson vaccines last April that haven’t even been touched. So we thought why not use them to vaccinate some of our city’s most vulnerable residents ” Kimberly Front, head of the RaccinationTO initiative tells us, “Plus, the J&J is a one-dose vaccine, which makes it easier to keep track of since all of our recipients look exactly the same. See a raccoon, give it a jab, move on knowing you made the city a little safer.”

The initiative is set to begin this Friday and will cost approximately $15 million. Leading up to Friday, residents are encouraged to capture as many raccoons as possible so the city can start out strong. RacconationTO recommends storing the raccoons in your bathroom, as a standard Toronto bathroom can comfortably hold 8-12 raccoons.

Scott Slute is the Editor in Chief at The Toronto Harold