Manitobans with specific medical conditions to get first round of AstraZeneca vaccine

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This article was published 09/03/2021 (1341 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba has prioritized some adults with specific health conditions to get the first shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19.

On Wednesday afternoon, a very small number of Manitobans became eligible to call certain pharmacies and doctors offices to start booking appointments.

The priority lists apply to Manitobans with certain conditions who are between the ages of 50 and 64, and First Nations people ages 30 to 64.

The first priority list includes chronic health conditions like kidney failure requiring dialysis, a small list of severe conditions of the heart, liver or lungs, as well as people with cancer receiving chemotherapy.

It also includes people with Down syndrome, severe obesity and cystic fibrosis, as well as people awaiting an organ or stem-cell transplant.

Physicians and pharmacists are being asked to vaccinate patients from the first criteria list, then move on to a secondary priority list.

That second list includes people with HIV, tuberculosis and uncontrolled asthma.

Both lists of conditions have been posted online, and can be accessed here.

“I know that this list of conditions may be confusing for some Manitobans, but we do believe that creating this list is the right way to go, to save lives and prevent people from ending up in the hospital,” Dr. Joss Reimer, the medical lead for Manitoba’s vaccine rollout, told reporters Wednesday at an afternoon briefing.

She said both lists were created by examining the medical conditions of Manitobans who died or become severely ill from COVID-19.

“There are some people with high-risk conditions that are more likely to have serious outcomes related to COVID-19, and that’s truly who we need to immunize as quickly as possible, now that we’re moving into this younger age group,” Reimer said.

The province is sending its first set of 18,000 AstraZeneca shots to 190 doctors and pharmacies, with most receiving about 50 to 200 doses.

Some of them will select patients themselves using the priority list from the province, while other clinics are accepting calls from the public. The province has an online map listing which pharmacies and clinics are taking calls.

Janet Forbes, the head of Inclusion Winnipeg, had mixed thoughts about the priority lists, saying it includes some people with intellectual disabilities, but not enough of them.

“I am encouraged by the availably of the vaccine for our population,” she said. “But I’m disappointed that there still are people who should be considered a priority, but are not being included… because of their age, and because of the place that they live.”

For example, people who have a handful of the conditions listed as first priority still do not qualify if they are under the age of 50 (or under 30 if they’re Indigenous). People living in group homes are placed ahead of those living with family.

Certain forms of autism that make it hard to understand or follow guidance around physical distancing and describe a medical issue are also not included in the list.

“Yukon and some provinces have identified people with intellectual disabilities as a priority group, and I don’t know why we’re lagging behind that.”

Reimer acknowledged there will inevitably be some inconsistencies in how clinicians make these decision, but said it was better to have primary care providers assess who would get the greatest benefit from a vaccine.

She stressed that Ottawa’s promised delivery schedule would eventually mean widespread availability of doses, by which point officials would no longer need to parse who qualifies using such precise details.

The first shipment of AstraZeneca doses arrived in Manitoba on Tuesday, and all 18,000 are expected to be administered by April 2.

The province says approximately 500 medical clinics and pharmacies have applied to be part of the immunization campaign, using fridge-stable vaccines like AstraZeneca, as more arrive.

Vaccines are still available to any Manitobans age 80 or older, or First Nations people age 60 or older. Both age categories apply regardless of medical conditions.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca