Mass vaccination clinics and, maybe, getting vaccine supplies to doctors' offices and pharmacies could be part of the local health unit’s spring tasks, provided vials of vaccine start flowing into the region soon.
Simcoe-Muskoka's medical officer of health, Dr. Charles Gardner, is looking forward to the day when the vaccine supply is steady, but today is not that day.
“I am looking forward to getting a steady and increased supply of vaccine,” said Gardner. “The stage we’re at right now, is just getting enough to give second doses.”
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has only received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to date. This vaccine requires two doses be given about 21 days apart.
Gardner said the local supply is so low the health unit borrowed some from Newmarket’s Southlake Regional Health Centre yesterday and plan to return the borrowed vaccine supply with the shipment headed for Simcoe-Muskoka today.
“That kind of neighbourliness is critical,” said Gardner.
But news reports of a supply of vaccines headed for Canadian shores in March, have Gardner looking forward to a faster and more widespread vaccination program.
“We are getting ready to be well-positioned to be able to immunize when that happens,” said Gardner.
While they wait, the health unit has been working with municipalities, primary-care physicians, community pharmacies and hospitals to make a plan for facilities in six areas in the region to be used as mass vaccination clinics.
“We look forward to being able to strike that up,” said Gardner.
He said the health unit would be following the province’s priorities for vaccine rollout. Currently, the health unit is still vaccinating long-term care and retirement home residents and staff.
As of yesterday, more than 22,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been delivered in the region with 6,100 people receiving both doses. In total, 89 per cent of long-term care residents and 65 per cent of retirement home residents in Simcoe County and Muskoka have received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
In the first phase of the vaccine rollout established by the province, doses are reserved for residents, staff, essential caregivers and other employees in congregate living settings for seniors; health care workers including hospital employees, staff who work or study in hospitals, and health care personnel; adults in First Nations, Métis and Inuit populations, and adult recipients of chronic home health care.
To date, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has not provided vaccinations for the region’s First Nation communities with the exception of doses for one elder-care home.
The second phase of the three-part plan by the province, prioritizes adults over 80 years old, people working and living in congregate settings, frontline essential workers, first responders, teachers, staff in the food processing industry, and people with high-risk chronic conditions.
The health unit is also collecting a contact list of health-care providers in the region to be used to reach out to the area senior population when the time comes to offer the vaccine for seniors not living in long-term care or retirement homes.
“They are rostered with their health-care provider… and those health-care providers will be able to help us in identifying them and reaching out to them in order to help book them for immunization,” said Gardner.
Once more vaccines come in, and there are versions that are easier to handle, Gardner hopes physicians and pharmacists will be able to inoculate seniors at doctor’s offices or pharmacies.
“This is a work in progress, and we still need to continue our local planning, which we’re doing expeditiously right now,” said Gardner. “No doubt, even with a fine degree of planning, we’ll have to adapt planning depending on what happens, what vaccine comes in and when.”
He’s still optimistic the health unit will succeed in being able to reach everyone who wants a vaccine over the summer.
