303 new COVID cases, one death, as Manitoba opens up second-dose eligibility

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This article was published 31/05/2021 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba continued to report high COVID-19 case counts Monday, while expanding the eligibility for those to receive second doses of life-saving vaccines.

The province recorded 303 new cases of the novel coronavirus, but noted the count was under-stated due to “technical issues.” Officials said this will result in an “over count” Tuesday.

Manitobans who received their first dose of vaccine on or before April 8 are now able to arrange their booster shot.

The province also announced anyone who received a first dose of AstraZeneca/Covishield is now eligible to receive a second dose of any mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna), provided they meet provincial eligibility criteria.

Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for Manitoba’s vaccine implementation task force, said the province made the decision after learning about a Spanish study that found people who received a second dose of an mRNA vaccine after a first dose of AstraZeneca had a good immune response.

“This is consistent with what we have seen in vaccines for other diseases, as well. We’ve seen that changing products in between doses for almost every other vaccine still results in good effectiveness and, ultimately, that’s what we’re after,” she told a Monday news conference.

Manitoba reported one new death due to COVID-19: a man in his 70s from the Interlake-Eastern health region, linked to the B.1.1.7 variant.

The current five-day test positivity rate is 12.1 per cent provincially, and 13.7 per cent in Winnipeg. There are 4,504 active cases.

Some 2,599 laboratory tests were conducted Sunday.

Manitoba also reported 71 persons in provincial ICUs with COVID-19 who are either infectious or no longer infectious with the virus. Dozens more intensive care patients have been shipped out of province for treatment.

“We’ve seen too many deaths related to this virus,” said Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, as the province marked its 1,053rd death.

Roussin also took a few moments to comment on the 215 Indigenous children, whose remains were recently found at a former B.C. residential school. He encouraged residential school survivors and other Indigenous people to reach out for help if they require it.

“While these conversations are important, they are difficult and may cause trauma or bring memories of past abuse,” Roussin said.

Persons can call the First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness help line at 1-855-242-3310. Counselling is available in English, French. and a number of Indigenous languages.

Roussin called the Kamloops discovery “heartbreaking.”

“This is one example among thousands of Canada’s history of colonization and oppression. This terrible history is not staying in the past, though. It continues to affect Indigenous people today. We see poor health outcomes and health disparities in our Indigenous populations. The pandemic has only further highlighted this.”

Meanwhile, Reimer apologized to thousands of Manitobans who recently received an email from the task force in error saying their appointments may have been cancelled.

“The team has been working on some processes on how to handle cancelled appointments and, due to human error, the message was actually sent out to about 15,000 people. A follow-up email was sent out to everyone on Saturday to correct the mistake. So we want to apologize for the confusion and, of course, following up to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca