All Manitobans could get first shot by mid-May

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This article was published 06/03/2021 (1991 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In Manitoba’s new best-case scenario, everyone in the province who wants to be vaccinated could get their first COVID-19 shot by May 18.

New projections were unveiled by members of the province’s Vaccine Implementation Task Force on Friday, just two days after it was announced Manitoba would be adopting advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, which recommended second doses of vaccine be spaced out by up to four months to allow more people to get the protection offered by a first dose.

In the less-optimistic low range scenario, Manitobans aged 18-29 would still receive their first doses of vaccine by June.

To accommodate the new strategy, the call centres that book vaccinations appointments are making changes to their procedures starting today.

Manitobans will no longer have to book their first and second vaccination appointments at the same time. People will be now notified when they should come in for their second dose.

When calling to book an appointment, appointments for multiple people can now be made at once. This will allow, for example, spouses to book appointments for the same day and time.

The new strategy will not change how many doses the province is receiving or the province’s daily maximum capacity for administering doses, said Johanu Botha, a co-lead of the Vaccine Implementation Task Force.

“We’ve built a racetrack that can accommodate the cars coming down the line,” said Botha. “We don’t have to build a bigger racetrack, it remains the exact same. We’re ready for the cars to come and race through it. The only difference is that every single car doesn’t have to go through it twice before exiting.”

Next week, the province is now expecting to receive 18,000 doses of the recently-approved AstraZeneca vaccine. This vaccine is expected to eventually be rolled out to pharmacies and doctors’ offices for distribution as it has less stringent cold-chain requirements than either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.

The province is also expecting to receive 20,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine next week and 16,400 of the Pfizer vaccine. The week after next, Manitoba is not expecting to receive any Moderna vaccines, but 14,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

On the week of March 22, the province is expecting 40,600 doses of the Moderna vaccine and a further 14,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccines. For the week starting March 29, Manitoba will be receiving no Moderna doses and 14,000 Pfizer doses.

During a Friday morning media briefing on vaccines, Vaccine Implementation Task Force medical lead Dr. Joss Reimer said that information will be sent to these offices telling them how many doses they can expect as well as who should be prioritized for vaccination.

“I want Manitobans to be aware of our plans, but I also don’t want you to start calling your physicians or pharmacies yet, as you won’t be able to make an appointment because they don’t yet know how many doses they’ll be receiving,” Reimer said. “But when you can, we will let you know. I’m going to steal one of Dr. Roussin’s usual lines and say, ‘Now is not the time.’”

The AstraZeneca vaccine will first be prioritized for people aged 50-64 who have a serious health condition that puts them at higher risk of severe outcomes if they were to contract COVID-19. This vaccine is not currently recommended for people older than 65 years of age.

Reimer said the list of prioritized health conditions has been finalized and would be shared with participating locations sometime Friday.

Though Health Canada announced Friday it had approved the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine for use in Canada, the province does not yet know when doses of that vaccine will arrive and be ready for use. Reimer said the province is also waiting on guidelines from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization for how this new vaccine should be used.

Vaccine eligibility was slightly expanded on Friday, with Manitobans aged 87 and older and First Nations people in Manitoba aged 67 and older now allowed to call to book vaccination appointments.

Larger centres in the north that don’t have a supersite, like in The Pas, Flin Flon and the RM of Kelsey, will be able to have residents visit the Thompson supersite as well as pop-up clinics in the communities themselves.

In a vaccine bulletin sent out by the province Friday afternoon, it was announced a new emergency order issued under the Emergency Measures Act will allow Shared Health to investigate and confirm whether health-care workers were eligible to receive their vaccinations.

If it is discovered that someone gave false information to obtain a vaccine early, Shared Health may share that information with a person’s employer, with law enforcement or a professional regulatory body. This order is retroactive to Dec. 12, 2020.

So far, Manitoba has administered 84,937 doses of vaccine. That includes 55,090 first doses and 29,847 second doses.

Next week, focused immunization teams will be vaccinating residents of the following congregate living facilities in Prairie Mountain Health:

• Carberry: Carberry Plains Lodge

• Stonewall: Thunder Hill Cour

• Minitonas: Pioneer Lodge, Chalet

• Neepawa: Yellowhead Manor, Elks Manor

• Cypress River: Cypress River Lodge

• Holland: Victoria Manor

• Dauphin: Dauphin Regional Health Centre

• Ste. Rose du Lac: Leisure Apartments, Trois Villas Apartments

• Roblin: Roblin Health Centre, Maple Manor, Roblin Residence

• Brandon: Brandon Regional Health Centre

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