Troy Shantz
Sarnia-Lambton is one of 14 (*see note below) health regions in Ontario that has not yet received and COVID-19 vaccine doses.
And though the expected arrival date is still the first week of February “these things change very frequently,” Dr. Sudit Ranade told a special meeting of Lambton County council today.
Lambton’s Medical Officer of Health told councillors he doesn’t know why Sarnia-Lambton, with one of the highest rates of new infections in Canada, is one of the last to get the vaccine.
About 240,000 doses have been administered in Ontario including to residents in the hard-hit regions of Toronto, Peel, York and Windsor-Essex.
Ranade said he suspects allocations were determined late last fall when Sarnia-Lambton still had a low case count.
Asked by Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley whether hounding Ontario for shots might help, Dr. Ranade said trying to exert pressure would be fruitless.
“Everybody is in this crunch. The province is under multiple pressures from multiple communities,” he said.
When one of Canada’s two approved COVID-19 vaccines does arrive locally it will follow a tightly controlled delivery schedule.
During Phase 1, expected in February and March, residents, staff and essential caregivers in long-term and retirement homes will be first in line.
Next up will be health care workers, others in congregate care settings, First Nation communities, and older adults.
In Phases 2 and 3, the general population will have access to shots at clinics and from doctors, other primary care providers, and pharmacists.
Phase 2 is expected to begin in April and Phase 3 by late summer.
The Moderna vaccine - the second of two shots approved by Canada late last year - will likely be the first to arrive locally. It doesn’t have the same storage restrictions as the Pfizer vaccine and is much easier to distribute, Ranade explained.
Overseeing the rollout will be a local task force that includes officials from Lambton Public Health, Bluewater Health, Lambton EMS, First Nations leaders, and other healthcare partners, Ranade said.
They will be in charge of providing information and overseeing the shots.
Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey told the virtual meeting his government is commitment to having every long-term care resident and staffer vaccinated by Feb. 15. That promise was made last week by retired General Rick Hillier, leader of Ontario’s vaccine task force.
Bailey said he would drive to Toronto himself to pick up any extra available doses.
“As soon as I find out it’s available I’ll personally drive down to Pearson (International Airport) and bring it down to Dr. Ranade and Bluewater Health and have it here by the morning,” Bailey said.
He added he is writing a letter to Premier Doug Ford asking for any surplus shots.
Ranade said Lambton Public Health has extensive experience in mass immunization, including a distribution plan during the H1N1 virus scare in 2009.
“We have run mass immunization clinics in Lambton County before… so we do have some expertise in doing it,” Ranade said.
Local task force officials will take questions during a web-streamed event on Jan. 26 and a radio call-in show Jan. 28.
For more, visit getthevaccine.ca.
NOTE: IT WAS INITIALLY REPORTED AT THE MEETING THAT SARNIA-LAMBTON WAS ONE OF ONLY FOUR HEALTH UNITS IN ONTARIO THAT STILL HADN'T RECEIVED VACCINE DOSES. SARNIA-LAMBTON MPP BOB BAILEY LATER AMENDED THAT NUMBER. ONTARIO HAS 35 PUBLIC HEALTH UNITS AND 14 ARE STILL AWAITING VACCINE, INCLUDING LAMBTON. THREE ARE SCHEDULED TO GET SHOTS ON JAN. 25. LAMBTON IS NOT ONE OF THEM.