Health-care workers watch, wait for next vaccine shipments

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This article was published 21/12/2020 (1918 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Manitoba awaits its next shipment of COVID-19 vaccine, front-line health-care workers who didn’t make the cut to receive the first available doses are anxiously waiting their turn, hoping for clarity on when they’ll join the line.

So far, 1,192 Manitobans have been vaccinated and all 1,300 vaccination appointments available as of this week have been booked, provincial public health officials said Tuesday. The next immunization clinic is Dec. 29-30.

More of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been ordered for Manitoba, said Dr. Jazz Atwal, acting deputy chief provincial public health officer, but he can’t yet disclose when it will arrive.

“We’re anticipating certain dates of arrival, but we’re not really making that public at this point, because dates change,” he said, declining to put a number on how many doses are expected in the next shipments.

“We have sort of a schedule for, let’s say, the next month, even the next three months — in anticipation — but those numbers almost change every day… so we don’t want to predict too far into the future.”

No one who has received the vaccine has reported any negative side-effects, Atwal said.

So far, only health-care workers who meet the province’s minimum age and work location requirements are to be vaccinated, because of the limited supply. People who work in COVID-19 immunization clinics are eligible. As are critical-care unit workers older than 39 as of Dec. 31 this year; long-term care workers older than 57; and acute care staff (including hospital employees) who are age 60 and up.

One Winnipeg hospital employee who has an underlying respiratory condition said they are losing sleep worrying about when they’ll be able to get vaccinated.

The health-care worker spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing reprisal from their employer for speaking to media.

They aren’t old enough to meet the eligibility criteria, but they know their work may put them in contact with someone who tested positive or is exposed to the virus in a hospital outbreak, particularly as wards are regularly moved to accommodate patients who need to be in isolation.

“I’ve lost my appetite; sometimes, I don’t sleep at night. And I’m sure I’m not the only one,” the worker said. “I don’t feel safe at work with all my health issues…. because it’s a big stress, going in to work. You don’t know what you’re walking into.

“It’s hard to sit there and wonder when it’s your turn, and with my conditions, I’m always a little nervous.”

The province’s vaccine-appointment booking phone line was flooded with thousands of calls before the first doses arrived Dec. 16, keeping lines tied up for hours.

Before all appointments were booked Tuesday, the wait time was down to 40 minutes, Atwal said. The phone lines reopen Wednesday morning for the Dec. 29-30 slots.

Many health-care workers are going to work afraid, but they understand there’s only so much of the vaccine to go around, said Debbie Boissonneault, president of CUPE Local 204. The union represents 14,000 Manitoba support workers, including employees at personal care homes, clinics and hospitals.

“Working in the front lines, everybody wants to be protected, they want to make sure that they’re not bringing it home to their families. But, at the same time, there’s always that divide, like who gets it first?” she said.

“They’re afraid; they’re scared. They want to do their jobs, they just want protection.”

The Manitoba Nurses Union has heard concerns from some members who are immuno-compromised and want to get early access to the vaccine, said president Darlene Jackson.

“For younger people who are immuno-compromised, it is unfortunate, but at the end of the day, they had to make some tough decisions,” Jackson said. The fact so many health-care workers are lining up to be vaccinated is a positive sign, she said, considering they see first-hand “the devastation of this virus.”

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay