With just days until a COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Ontario, the province is erring on the side of vaccinating fewer people at first.
The vaccine is set to arrive by Monday.
Retired General and vaccine distribution team lead Rick Hiller points out patients need two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. While the company says the next batch of medication will arrive in time for the second injection, the province isn’t taking chances.
“We talked to the doctors at both sites last night, and they said ‘yes, save that second dose for day 21 and [beyond]’ just to make sure,” he explains.
There will be one vaccination site at the University Health Network in Toronto and another at the Ottawa Hospital, each getting 3,000 doses in this first shipment. They will vaccinate 1,500 people at each site in this first round.
Solicitor General Sylvia Jones says they have beefed up security at those sites.
“There are cybersecurity issues, there are physical security issues that we were monitoring, and ensuring and working with our two host hospitals to make sure that they had those protections in place. We’re satisfied that they are ready,” Jones says.
Earlier this week the province admitted they wouldn’t be able to bring the vaccine into long-term care homes to residents who can’t leave. However, he says they will still be protected because staff and care workers will be able to get vaccinated.
“And as one of the doctors said to me, by doing that alone, we’ll improve the protection of the residents in that long-term care home by 90-plus percent, because the COVID-19 enters the home through those people,” Hillier says.
