Plans for where and when vaccinations against COVID-19 will be delivered in – or near – Thompson remain in state of flux due to delays in Pfizer vaccine shipments to Manitoba.
The Thompson Vaxport, located adjacent to the airport, first announced Dec. 23, will not open as scheduled Feb. 1, said Manitoba Health and Senior Care medical officer of health Dr. Joss Reimer, a member of the province’s COVID-19 vaccine implementation task force, at a Jan. 18 press conference, but one tray of COVID-19 vaccine doses will begin to be administered that day at a vaccination clinic at the Thompson Regional Community Centre (TRCC), which was announced as an additional location on Jan. 15.
“This will be on a temporary basis while supplies are in place to run that site,” said Reimer. “We are also going to be holding off on opening the Vaxport portion of the Thompson site again because we are awaiting further supplies. For the time being we are not taking appointments for the Thomson site but I will let you know when that changes.”
One tray of the Pfizer vaccine, about 1,100 doses, is being shipped up fro the first vaccinations.
“We have to send a full tray together when we’re sending something frozen so that number of doses will be going up to Thompson and will ensure that the site is open to facilitate providing all of those doses,” Reimer said. “It really depends at this point at how quickly appointments are booked and what the uptake is from folks in the Northern Regional Health Authority and that will help us determine how long the site will be open. After we have better understanding of when we can expect resumption of the higher amounts of shipments we’ll be able to decide about sending up further doses than that first tray.”
The TRCC vaccination site was announced Jan. 15, the same day that chief provincial public health officer Dr., Brent Roussin and Premier Brian Pallister fielded questions about the suitability of the airport location during a press conference.
When asked about concerns that the Thompson vaccination supersite will be located several kilometres out of town by the airport with no public transit access, Pallister said the rationale for putting it there was “very logical and eminently defensible.”
“They’re getting an access centre, one of three communities in the province that will get a supersite, which is pretty good,” said the premier. “There’s a lot of other communities that would be really happy to have one in their area.”
He and Roussin also said questions about the site’s location would be better directed at the vaccination task force.
“Remember the planning is very difficult due to the nature of these vaccines,” said Roussin. “They’re very hard to store and so it’s not a simple task to plan these sites.”
Mayor Colleen Smook said on the city’s website that she was disappointed with media portraying the city’s relationship with the province as terse and oppositional.
“We’ve kept close contact with our provincial ministries since day one of the pandemic to ensure that northern voices are heard and that relationship hasn’t changed,” Smook said. “We suggested improvements to the delivery of Vaxport in Thompson and the province listened.”
Smook told CBC that the airport location was not ideal.
“It wasn’t [suitable] for local people, or even our outlying communities and partners that would want to travel into Thompson, and then you’re still another five miles out to the airport,” she said.
Provincial officials were in the city to tour Vaxport with Smook Jan. 14, a day before the second site within the city was announced.
“We still have a large population that is flying in [to the city] and definitely the airport is very convenient that way,” said the mayor following that tour, suggesting that the airport was well-suited for people coming in for vaccinations from remote First Nations that are locked down. “They don’t have to come in [to the city centre] and mingle. They can keep to their community lockdown standards.”
As of Jan. 18, 17,751 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Manitoba, including 15,607 first doses and 2,144 second doses. The province has received 46,290 dozes of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines overall. 5,300 doses of the Moderna vaccine were allocated to First Nations, who are not included in the provincial vaccination numbers, with the rest designated to vaccinate personal care home residents and staff
The first vaccinations delivered in Thompson will be to residents and staff at Northern Spirit Manor personal care home, currently scheduled for Jan. 23, according to a provincial spokesperson.
About 90 Norway House residents had received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine as of Jan. 12, as had 20 York Factory First Nation elders. Vaccinations had also begun in Pimicikamak Cree Nation
Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation has received 150 doses of the Moderna vaccine for residents and staff of the personal care home as well as other eligible elders, Chief Marcel Moody said in a Jan. 15 update.
“We hope that over the next few months enough vaccine will arrive to vaccinate all of us,” Moody wrote. “We will require two doses of the Moderna vaccine given 28 days apart. It will then take a few weeks for our bodies to build up immunity so that we will be about 95 per cent protected from COVID-19. All of this is going to take time so we need to remain strong and be patient. With the vaccine received so far we have started to vaccinate the PCH residents and staff and those who are 70 years of age or older. As we receive more vaccine, we will then do ages 65 to 69 and continue vaccinating down in 5-year categories. “
Moody also wrote that the vaccine is safe.
“Any of the potential risks of the vaccine that have been studied are minor when compared to the risks of dying or suffering from the long term effects of COVID-19 (for example, heart, lung and mental health problems),” he said.
