Public health wants province to rollback hot spot vaccines due to reduced supply here
Administrator | Apr 15, 2021 | Comments 6
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) is advising that the province’s recent decision to redirect vaccines to Ontario hot spots will reduce anticipated local supply and may impact scheduled vaccine clinics.
Yesterday, Dr. Piotr Oglaza Medical Officer of Health and CEO at HPEPH informed municipal partners the strategy reduced vaccine allocations to HPEPH by 25 per cent.
HPEPH does not know how long the reduction in vaccine allocation will continue, but data from the Ministry of Health shows that it could be until mid May.
HPEPH is calling on the province to reverse the decision and maintain or increase anticipated allocations to the region.
“While we are not the only health unit suffering from a lack of vaccines, the change in provincial strategy will further delay vaccine rollout in our region and will increase pressure on our already strained local health care resources,” said Dr. Oglaza. “While we recognize the need for enhanced vaccination in hot spots, I am committed to avoiding further delays in vaccination for individuals in our region who are at risk of severe COVID-19 complications due to their age, chronic health conditions, or their role caring for individuals who are at high risk.”
If HPEPH is not successful in reversing the provincial decision to reduce vaccine allocation, some first dose appointments may be postponed. All local residents are advised that they will be contacted directly if their appointment is postponed. If they are not contacted, they can plan to attend their vaccination appointment as originally scheduled.
While public health clinics may be impacted, local pharmacies will continue to receive supply of AstraZeneca.
Individuals aged 55 and older are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to get the AstraZeneca vaccine at local pharmacies in order to protect themselves and those around them. A list of pharmacies offering vaccines is available at covid-19.ontario.ca/vaccine-locations.
“I want to reassure residents that while vaccine appointments may need to be delayed due to unanticipated vaccine shortages, we remain committed to getting you an appointment as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Oglaza. “We will continue to advocate to get vaccines into the arms of our residents as quickly as possible, particularly those who are most vulnerable in our community.”
As part of advocacy efforts to demonstrate the ongoing need for vaccines in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties, HPEPH has contacted the Minister of Health and Chief Medical Officer of Health, requesting that original allocations be maintained or increased.
As part of this request, HPEPH is sharing data that underscores the sudden increase in local case rates, which would place HPEPH in the red/control zone of the Provincial Reopening Framework if the Stay at Home Order were not in effect.
In addition, HPEPH is reinforcing that local residents are at an elevated risk for COVID-19 related complications compared to the provincial average, and maintaining vaccination efforts is imperative in order to avoid severe illness and hospitalizations:
– 25% of HPEPH residents are over the age of 65 (38% greater than the provincial average)[i]
– Over half of HPEPH residents (55%) aged 70-74, and 83% of those between age 65-69 have not received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine[ii]
– 23% of residents are daily smokers (75% higher than the provincial average, third highest in province) a known risk factor for COVID-19.
In 2019, local hospitalizations related to COPD were 301.4 per 100,000, which is 86% higher than provincial average.
Visit hpepublichealth.ca/covid-19-vaccines for the latest COVID-19 vaccine information.
Filed Under: Local News
Statistics found on Ontario Government website April 19/2021
Number of Ontario doses distributed……….. 4,852,885
Number of Ontario doses given. ……………. 3,904,778
Why were two many doses not given?
Unfortunately, since the Provincial government took over the booking portal, the majority of the vaccines allotted for PEC are being administered to people from other heath unit regions. Take a walk through the parking lot on vaccine clinic days.
why is it that the ones who are following the rules of staying home, not travelling, etc are being punished by being told that vaccines are going elsewhere. This county has a high influx of tourism and an older population which should amount to getting vaccinated. we have patiently waited for our turn to receive vaccinations and now are being told that we may expect a longer wait. How are we being discriminated
The County may want to appeal to the Provincial Government to not allow the Parks to open in May as planned. Or, at a bear minimum, repeal the free day use until things are more under control.
While I understand hot spots need focus, it should not be on the backs of areas (and there are several in the province) like ours, who did well earlier in the pandemic and are now feeling a bit swamped with cases, regardless where they came from. Until a large portion of our population has some measure of protection, we should not be hanging out the “Visit The County” shingle just yet.
Ontario modelling showing 12 – 18,000 cases a day by the end of May. And tourist season on our horizon. Close the Park, keep STA’s closed, shutdown all non essential business, drasticaĺly reduce numbers in grocery stores, introduce a curfew.
This situation comes after the CBC article explaining how some Provincial Conservative ridings have been given additional vaccines – when falsely claiming they were hotspots! Now the residents of PEC are being told that there may not be enough vaccines for us. It is time for our local Council to start raising some dust over this with our own MMPP!