The Northwestern Health Unit is on track to vaccinate all long-term care residents against COVID-19 by February 10th.
That’s according to Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kit Young Hoon.
Young Hoon says a hundred percent of doses received have gone long term care homes across the region.
“This is over 3 hundred shots and currently 68 percent of long-term care home residents have now received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccine.”
The health unit received that shipment last week, with vaccinations continuing over the next week to ensure remaining residents receive their first shots.
Young Hoon adds they only have vaccines for LTC residents and residents and staff of Elder Care homes on First Nation communities right now, explaining vaccines come as they are needed but also as they’re available to the province.
“After this week and next week, it will be uncertain what future vaccine allocations we’ll be getting. That information does seem to change regularly and I think that’s because the vaccine supply is not necessarily stable at this point.”
The province has extended their deadline for vaccinating all long-term care residents to February 10th, due to delays and delivery of vaccines.
With the shots that have been given so far, the health unit says they’ve been notified of some mild symptoms you may expect like pain or tenderness around the area where the vaccine was administered and feeling unwell.
Young Hoon says based on the information they’ve received, those are generally mild symptoms that get resolved relatively quickly.
A vaccine process is in place, if people develop symptoms after getting the vaccine- that could be related to the vaccine itself.
Young Hoon explains this is not a new process, as it’s been used for all new vaccines.
Information regarding symptoms goes though the individual’s health care provider, to the health unit, then onto the province and nationally, in order to monitor the safety of new vaccines.
Elsewhere, ORNGE has also announced the official start of Operation Remote Immunity, providing access to the Moderna vaccine to residents aged 18 and over in remote fly-in communities.
The week, the vaccination teams will be visiting Fort Severn, Muskrat Dam, Neskantaga, Slate Falls, Kashechewan, and Webequie.
Operation Remote Immunity aims to complete its work by the end of April.
