Manitoba’s vaccine rollout details expected Wednesday

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This article was published 08/12/2020 (1436 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial government is set to reveal who will get the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine later this month, as it promises every Manitoban will have a chance to get immunized by the end of 2021.

Manitoba’s timeline is more ambitious than the one pledged by the Trudeau government, in part, due to Ottawa deciding to increase Manitoba’s quota of the vaccine to account for remote Indigenous communities, Premier Brian Pallister said Tuesday.

“This will not solve all our problems, but it is a positive thing to know,” the premier told reporters, promising details would be announced Wednesday.

Manitoba has the highest proportion of Indigenous people. Pallister was criticized after warning last week that a federal recommendation to prioritize Indigenous communities would put other Manitobans “at the back of the line” for the vaccine.

Pallister said Ottawa addressed his concern on Monday evening by increasing Manitoba’s share of the Moderna vaccine, which is easier to transport than the Pfizer vaccine because it doesn’t need to be stored in extreme-cold conditions.

As of Tuesday, Health Canada had yet to approve either vaccine, but the military planned to conduct a test exercise this week to get packages from abroad to all provinces while keeping the Pfizer vaccine stored at -70 C.

This month, Manitoba will get its share of the first Pfizer doses, which should immunize roughly 4,500 people near the end of the month.

By April 1, Manitoba should be able to vaccinate another 105,135 people, based on federal projections and the extra quota announced Tuesday.

In the first quarter of 2021, Ottawa expects to have six million doses — a mix of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, both of which require two doses per person.

A proportionate share for Manitoba would allow the province to immunize another 100,335 people.

The premier told reporters the federal government decided to increase the province’s share of Moderna quota to 75,600 doses from 66,000, enough to vaccinate an additional 4,800 people.

“We sincerely appreciate it, and we know that these vaccines will be appreciated in the communities of our province where people are clearly at higher risk,” Pallister said.

The numbers he released suggest one-third of Manitoba’s vaccines would come from Pfizer, the rest from Moderna.

He said details about which groups will be get it first will be released Wednesday.

A federal advisory body has suggested personal care home workers and residents should be first in line, because PCH residents account for the vast majority of COVID-19 deaths.

Also in the first category: adults over 80, front-line health-care workers and people in Indigenous communities “where infection can have disproportionate consequences.”

The federal advice is voluntary, and provinces have unveiled protocols that roughly follow that order.

Michelle Driedger, a prominent researcher in public health communication, said Manitoba must explain why it will prioritize different groups, so people understand why they’re not first in line.

“Transparency is fundamental in this,” said Driedger, a University of Manitoba professor of community health.

“With a scare resource like a vaccine… there are a whole series of equity dimensions that are being incorporated in. The reasoning for why certain groups might be prioritized over other groups, needs to be clearly communicated, so that the decision is not only defensible, but it’s also understood,” she said.

The province will have to figure out how rural Manitobans will be vaccinated, including those who work in care homes and hospitals, which often have less resources than those in Winnipeg.

The December rounds of the Pfizer vaccine are meant to stay in one location in Manitoba, most likely Winnipeg, due to the strict requirements for keeping doses at -70 C.

That raises questions about the safety of having people travel to the city twice for the vaccine.

“We have to make sure that if (doses) are being kept within the city, that there’s a clear rationale for that, and how that might be potentially balanced with distribution of other vaccines, that might not have the same cold-chain requirements, when they become available,” Driedger said.

Opposition parties welcomed the news about the increased Moderna supply, but would not credit the premier.

“I think there has to be some allowance when they’re distributing the vaccine for need,” said NDP Leader Wab Kinew.

He said Ottawa should weigh how many people are in long-term care, Indigenous communities, the medical front lines and vulnerable age groups — but he said Pallister’s choice to go for “the racism angle” last week was not helpful.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said he understood the extra doses were added because of the federal government’s consideration of Indigenous communities, not due to Pallister’s negotiating skills.

“Pandemics hit First Nations communities hard; we know that,” Lamont said.

Meanwhile, Manitoba’s top doctor urged people to follow public-health orders, saying the vaccine is months away for most people.

But Dr. Brent Roussin also gave one of the most optimistic timelines in all of Canada.

“We expect to have enough vaccine in the upcoming calendar year for all Manitobans who want it,” Roussin told reporters.

In late November, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged a majority of Canadians — more than one-half — would receive the vaccine by September. Deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo said that goal, of vaccinating more than 50 per cent of the population, might be achieved closer to the end of 2021.

— With files from Larry Kusch

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca