Amazon has been selected by the province as one of the first three workplaces that will run vaccination clinics in hot spot neighbourhoods in Peel Region.

Peel Public Health announced Thursday that it is expanding its vaccination strategy to more settings in the coming weeks, including at select workplaces.

Maple Leaf Foods and Maple Lodge Farms have also been chosen to host immunization clinics for their employees.

"These same workplaces will then operate local community clinics in partnership with the Region of Peel and community organizations, held at community centres, places of worship or other community hubs. Specific details on how to access workplace and community clinics will be shared once operational details are finalized. Employees at workplaces will be contacted directly by their employer," the statement reads.

Earlier this month, the province vowed to begin vaccinating employees in hot spot workplaces, including large factories in Peel Region. For a company to qualify to operate a vaccine clinic, it must meet provincial criteria that include location, outbreak data, and willingness of the employer to operate and fund an on-site clinic for its employees and a separate clinic for the community.

All three workplaces had outbreaks declared in their facilities, with the most recent one at an Amazon fulfilment centre in Brampton.

"We are working in collaboration with over 150 organizations and over 20 community group working tables to roll out the Mass Vaccination Program and Hot Spot strategy within workplace and community sites. These hot spot workplace and community pop-up clinics are a welcome addition to the variety of ways that we are delivering vaccines in arms," Dr. Lawrence Loh, the medical officer of health for Peel Region, said.

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, the vice president for communications and public affairs with Maple Leaf Foods said they will vaccinate their workers at four plants starting next week.

"With extensive safety measures already in place at our plants, getting as many of our team members vaccinated as quickly as possible is the next step in our preventive efforts. We know that many of our employees reside in 'hot spots' in the community, and so this collaborative effort will meaningfully advance our shared objectives of safe communities and safe workplaces," Janet Riley said.

Last week, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said he received calls and emails from factories eager to set up on-site vaccination clinics.

Peel Region, the home for many essential workers, has been hit hard throughout the pandemic. This week, Brampton's test positivity rate is 22.4 per cent, with a weekly incidence rate of 466.7 per 100,000 residents, the highest in Ontario by far.

Public health experts have said that the lack of supports for essential workers like enhanced paid sick leave and not being prioritized for the vaccine exposed them to COVID-19. A study conducted by Peel Public Health last year shows that a third of people with coronavirus symptoms still go to work.

With the more transmissible variants of concern driving the third wave, many ICU doctors have shared that many of their COVID-19 patients are essential workers and their relatives.

As workplace exposures continue to be a major source of COVID-19 transmission in the region, Loh issued a section 22 order earlier this week that will require workplaces with five or more recent cases to close for 10 days to stop the spread. It will begin on Friday.

The expansion of Peel Region's vaccine rollout comes as it nears a milestone of 500,000 doses administered. However, officials in the region continue to urge the province to allocate more vaccine supplies so they can vaccinate more people in hot spots.

On Wednesday, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said that the sooner residents in hot spot regions are vaccinated, the sooner the rest of the province can get out of lockdown.

"The reality is that Peel, Toronto and York are holding back the rest of the province right now," she said.

Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Abdu Sharkawy agreed.

"The fires are raging out of control in Peel Region, particularly in Brampton and other parts of Mississauga, for all of the reasons that were just outlined. You're talking about a marginalized community – one that has been under-resourced, under-supported, and frankly alienated for a very long period of time," Sharkawy told CP24 Wednesday evening.

"If we want to have this pandemic come to a reasonable halt, we've got to go where the fire is hottest. They are essential workers. These are environments that have been vulnerable and continued to be left unprotected. And until we stamp that fire out, the rest of us, us privileged people who are capable of staying home and who have choices, are going to suffer along with everyone else."