Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are now in Manitoba - but are not yet in the north.
Plans are in place to get the vaccine into northern Manitoba in early 2021, but no doses of the vaccination have yet made its way into the region. The first doses of the vaccine have been available only to certain health workers, most of whom have been within the Winnipeg area.
The first group eligible for vaccinations were health workers who work directly with patients, often of a certain age or older - workers assigned to COVID-19 immunization clinics, critical care unit workers over age 40, acute care facility workers over age 60 and long term care facility workers over age 58 were eligible for the first shipment of COVID-19 jabs.
When asked during the Dec. 15 meeting of Flin Flon city council, Mayor Cal Huntley - who also serves as board chair for the Northern Health Region (NHR) - said he was not aware of a single dose of the vaccine having been brought north.
鈥淔or right now, I think most of that is in Winnipeg. For the north, as of today [Dec. 15] at least, there are no vaccines in Thompson, The Pas or Flin Flon to even give out. That鈥檚 a work in progress to begin with. I do know Manitoba accepted the 900 and I don鈥檛 know if we鈥檝e got any more yet or not,鈥� he said.
鈥淢anitoba鈥檚 current vaccine allocation is very limited, with 1,800 doses expected to be administered by the end of this week,鈥� reads a statement sent to The Reminder Dec. 21 from a provincial government spokesperson.
Northern Manitoba is home to three of the province鈥檚 worst community outbreaks, in Shamattawa, Red Sucker Lake and Oxford House/Bunibonibee Cree Nation. In Shamattawa, over 25 per cent of the entire community has tested positive for COVID-19 as of Dec. 21.
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Grand Chief Garrison Settee said in a Dec. 17 statement that any plans to distribute vaccines in northern communities had been done without consulting MKO.
鈥�Although the vaccine arrived in Manitoba earlier this week, we still have no information about when it will be distributed or made available to MKO citizens. The province has not reached out to provide me with any information about who is making these decisions and how they are being made,鈥� he said, adding that MKO had written to Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister about having First Nations representation on the province鈥檚 vaccination task force. COVID-19 cases in Manitoba, particularly in the north, have disproportionately affected Indigenous people - over 20 per cent of all COVID-19 cases in Manitoba have been reported in First Nations people according to the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, despite First Nations people making up only about seven per cent of the province鈥檚 population.
鈥�As the Grand Chief for northern First Nations, I want to encourage both the province and the federal government to maintain transparency and strive for clear communication when it comes to the vaccine distribution strategy,鈥� said Settee.
While the vaccine has not been shipped into the north as of yet, it will eventually make its way into the region, the spokesperson confirmed. Once further vaccine shipments are received, the priority group for vaccinations will be expanded - though it is unclear which groups of people will be next up for receiving the jab - with a hub site set up in Winnipeg at the RBC Convention Centre. Other hubs - labelled by the spokesperson as 鈥渟uper-sites鈥� - will be set up in Brandon and Thompson, then vaccines will be made available in smaller communities as supply increases.
鈥淎s vaccine supply increases, Manitoba will open other locations in areas throughout the province. Mobile clinics and other targeted outreach will be offered when more easily stored and transported vaccines are available,鈥� said the spokesperson.
Huntley said he was unsure when vaccines could make their way to Flin Flon, adding that demand is high. Huntley referenced the debacle that took place after an internal phone number for health workers to book COVID-19 immunizations was leaked to the public, leading to thousands of calls and leaving eligible health workers unable to get through.
鈥淚 don't have any detailed information, but it's all being coordinated by the province,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hey had put out criteria with regards to the most important people, like the frontline people, that were to get the vaccine. They were to schedule appointments but the number to call got out and it got inundated. There were 900 possible doses and I think they had over a hundred thousand calls - everything just got blocked.鈥�
The provincial spokesperson said the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine carries with it a series of logistical issues, including keeping the vaccine viable in supercooled freezers.
鈥淭here are a number of logistical challenges that must also be considered as part of the vaccine roll-out. The Pfizer vaccine, which is the only one currently available, must be held at an ultra-low temperature and we were not permitted to ship it from the location where it was delivered,鈥� reads the spokesperson鈥檚 statement.
鈥淲e will continue to update Manitobans about our rollout plans, including delivery to northern communities, as further details on allocations, types of vaccines and confirmed shipments are confirmed.鈥�
The second vaccine approved for use in Canada, produced by pharmaceutical company Moderna, requires cooling but does not require temperatures as low as the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine storage to stay viable. The federal government has stated that the Moderna vaccine would be sent first to northern, remote and Indigenous communities. No plans for distributing the Moderna vaccine in northern Manitoba have been announced, either by the provincial or federal government, as of Dec. 30.
Meanwhile, Huntley said information - as of Dec. 15 - on when the vaccine may arrive in Flin Flon remained sparse.
鈥淭he province is working on that plan. We don't have a whole lot of say around that. As soon as the health authority knows, we'll be part and parcel with regards to helping them find facilities where they can deliver it, so we'll be aware of what's going on,鈥� he said.
鈥淎nything that we know would be from the press releases that have been going out.鈥�
