Indigenous leaders concerned about vaccine supply

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/12/2020 (2101 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Manitoba’s Indigenous leaders are getting antsy about who will get the yet-to-be approved Moderna vaccine against COVID-19, which could arrive in the province next week.

The federal government has convened a committee in an attempt to get Indigenous leaders and provinces on the same page ahead of a vaccine roll-out no one expected to come so soon. However, Ottawa says it won’t strong-arm provinces who fail to uphold their constitutional duty to protect Indigenous people.

“Ottawa has a fiduciary responsibility for Indigenous people, on and off reserve,” said Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand. “Canada must and should demand that this is taken care of.”

The Moderna vaccine is expected to be green-lighted this month for use in Canada, and unlike the previously approved Pfizer vaccine (which requires ultra-low temperatures for storage) it can be kept in regular freezers for days. Ottawa has asked for Moderna doses to be prioritized in part for Indigenous communities.

For decades, Ottawa has had a constitutional duty to care for First Nations living on reserves, and courts have ruled this technically includes all Indigenous people. It’s because of this duty Ottawa is allocating extra quota of the Moderna vaccine to provinces for doses arriving by April 1, beyond a strictly per-capita allocation.

Indigenous leaders can’t say, however, which communities will get those first shots, such as remote Shamattawa First Nation that is dealing with one of the fastest-growing outbreaks in Canada, or Winnipeggers living in poverty.

Internal records obtained by the Free Press show Indigenous Services Canada hastily assembled what it calls the “COVID-19 Vaccine Working Group,” which as of midweek comprised 32 Indigenous representatives, 17 provincial and territorial officials, and 45 federal bureaucrats. Some of the spots are unfilled, as provinces and Indigenous groups try figuring out who to put on the quickly assembled task force.

The group was created in November, but its membership list only included First Nations and Inuit groups. Earlier this month, it expanded to include Manitoba’s First Nations Pandemic Response Coordination Team and the MMF.

That was news to Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents northern First Nations.

“The province has not reached out to provide me with any information about who is making these decisions, and how they are being made,” Grand Chief Garrison Settee wrote Thursday, adding he’s reached out to Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam.

The MMF said Ottawa should partner directly with Métis leaders if the province won’t let them be part of the decision on who needs to be prioritized for vaccine doses.

On Wednesday, ISC officials stressed a collaborative approach would be taken, and didn’t entertain the idea of intervening in provincial decisions.

“I would hate to consider the worst-case scenario where people don’t get along or agree not to organize,” said Dr. Evan Adams, ISC deputy medical officer.

ISC’s top doctor said he hopes there won’t be conflict.

“We are in the same boat together. If one part sinks, the whole boat sinks,” said Dr. Tony Wong, who added officials have to weigh numerous factors.

As an example, he noted First Nations reserves in Manitoba skew younger than the general population. But they often have scant access to medical care, a high rate of diabetes, a shorter life expectancy, and cramped housing.

Wong said that means the general metric of restricting COVID-19 doses to older Canadians might not fit in the context of Manitoba reserves.

Indigenous people who live within Winnipeg have disproportionally been hospitalized and died from COVID-19. ISC Minister Marc Miller has cited those stats in saying urban Indigenous people need to be a priority group.

— with files from Danielle Da Silva

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca