Fisher River elders first for vaccine

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/01/2021 (1877 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Elders at Ochekwi Sipi Personal Care Home in Fisher River Cree Nation will be among the first long-term care residents in Manitoba to get the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Monday as doses are rolled out to select homes in Manitoba.

Chief David Crate said the First Nation of just under 2,000 people, about 200 kilometres north of Winnipeg, will carefully roll out its immunization campaign beginning with elders residing in the 32 bed home, those over 65 years of age or older and health care providers.

At the outset, 190 people in Fisher River will receive their first dose of the vaccine over the coming days, Crate said.

“Overall for the membership here, I know (the vaccine) is a sign that things are going to change soon,” Crate said Sunday in a phone interview. “I would imagine too that a lot of people are relieved that the vaccine is here.”

“I think, to our members, it also means freedom from the restrictions,” Crate said. “It’s going to be a different picture three months from now for the community.”

Last Friday, the province sent an initial shipment of Moderna vaccines to First Nations communities with the first deliveries arriving in Fisher River, Cross Lake (Pimicikamak), Peguis First Nation and Norway House.

As of Sunday, Manitoba had received 7,300 doses of the Moderna vaccine, of which 5,300 are earmarked for First Nation communities. Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which must be kept in ultra cold freezers, the Moderna brand injection can be frozen between -25° C and -15° C and is more easily transported.

The remaining 2,000 Moderna doses are reserved for personal care home residents throughout Manitoba. Inoculation of residents will begin today at four homes: Boyne Lodge in Carman; Charleswood Care Centre, Oakview Place and Tuxedo Villa in Winnipeg; Hillcrest Place in Brandon; St. Paul’s Residence in The Pas; and Tudor House in Selkirk.

The province estimates 1,157 long-term care residents will be immunized throughout the week.

In Fisher River, Crate said there are currently four active cases of COVID-19 and 24 people isolating. So far, no residents of the local personal care home have fallen ill with the disease, he said. A community lockdown has been extended until February.

Crate said there are mixed feelings among members about getting the jab, and outreach, in collaboration with the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs pandemic response team, is ongoing to answer questions and address concerns related to the new vaccine. He expects all 190 doses will be spoken for.

Crate said the community is preparing to receive more doses over the coming weeks and hopes to have much of the community immunized in the next three months.

“We all realize it’s going to take time to have a large group of our members vaccinated and the timeline we looked at… is by the end of March to have a good percentage of our population vaccinated in the community,” Crate said.

On Sunday, the province reported the deaths of five more Manitobans due to COVID-19 and 151 new cases of the virus. The bulk of the cases stemmed from Winnipeg (73), followed by Northern Health (44), Southern Health (14), and 10 cases in both the Interlake-Eastern and Prairie Mountain health regions.

The five-day test positivity rate was 10 per cent provincially and 9.2 per cent in Winnipeg. Data show 1,539 tests were completed on Saturday.

According to the province, there were 322 COVID-19 related hospitalizations, including 239 people who were infectious, and 36 in intensive care. Since March, 738 Manitobans have died from the disease.

In northern Manitoba, Pimicikamak Chief David Monias said 80 people in the community 520 kilometres north of Winnipeg have already had their first dose of the vaccine.

The community has so far received 200 doses and is prioritizing elders 70 years old or older, those living in long-term care at the Kasayak Center, and health care providers. About 8,000 people live on reserve, Monias said.

“The elders, they stepped up themselves and actually called and wanted to take the vaccine. So that speaks volumes in terms of setting an example for the younger generation,” Monias said.

As of Sunday there were 43 active cases of COVID-19 in Pimicikamak and hundreds more identified as contacts and self-isolating, Monias said. Testing is ongoing.

Monias said he hopes to hear from the province about plans to open a vaccination centre in Thompson to increase access to the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine in the region.  

“We’re all anxious about receiving it but I’m very much aware of where the province is in terms of not knowing how many vaccines they’re getting as well,” Monias said.

The provincial government reported Sunday that a total of 9,498 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given to Manitobans.

To date, Manitoba has received 22,230 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 7,300 doses of the Moderna vaccine. According to the government, 12,500 Pfizer vaccine doses will be given at appointments for first- and second-dose immunizations at the Winnipeg supersite this week.

A delivery of 9,360 more Pfizer doses is expected next week with a third being sent to Brandon to open a vaccination clinic at the Keystone Centre on Jan. 18.

Home-care workers employed by a regional health authority, a RHA-contracted service provider, or a self- and family-managed care client, born on or before Dec. 31, 1960 are now eligible for vaccinations.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca