More Manitobans added to vaccination list

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This article was published 17/02/2021 (1718 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MANITOBA has further expanded its COVID-19 vaccine eligibility criteria as thousands of doses are scheduled to arrive in the province during the coming weeks.

The provincial government said it expects to receive 15,210 doses of the Pfizer vaccine by the end of this week and 17,550 more doses next week. An additional 6,100 Moderna doses are to arrive next week.

The following people are eligible to book an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine:

• People who work in COVID-19 alternative isolation accommodations, with no age restrictions;

• People who work in facilities that provide services insured by Manitoba Health, including:

• primary care clinics (family physicians and/or nurse practitioners, for example, born on or before Dec. 31, 1960);

• diagnostic laboratories (born on or before Dec. 31, 1960);

• outpatient laboratories (born on or before Dec. 31, 1960);

• outpatient surgical units (born on or before Dec. 31, 1960); and

• specialty physician clinics, such as cardiology, gynecology and psychiatry (born on or before Dec. 31, 1960).

People who work in homeless shelters, emergency placement shelters, family violence shelters or second-stage housing and provide direct care can also book appointments through the call centre.

About 3,600 personal care home residents at 49 homes will also be visited by immunization teams this week to receive second doses. The second sweep of the province’s 125 licensed homes is expected to wrap up by the end of February.

Immunization teams will also vaccinate residents of congregate living facilities in Winnipeg and Brandon this week, though the province has not provided details about which facilities are up for immunization first.

The province said due to low vaccine supply, it will not be able to operate two clinics in Thompson, as planned. The province has opened a clinic at the recreation centre in the northern city and was looking to open a clinic at the airport, dubbed “vaxport,” this month.

Next month, the province will transport about 1,000 eligible people in remote communities to Thompson to be immunized.

When the vaccine supply improves, the province will open the vaxport at the airport and in the meantime is making improvements to the facility.

Meanwhile, immunizations in Brandon and Winnipeg have been put on pause until Feb. 18, due to the short supply of the Pfizer vaccine. Second dose appointments that would have occurred early this week have been rescheduled.

To date, 69,600 doses of vaccine have been delivered to Manitoba and 56,044 doses have been given out, including 21,185 second doses.