Local seniors who do not reside in long-term care or retirement homes are anxiously waiting their turn to receive the vaccine that will protect them against the deadly coronavirus.
Currently, 89 per cent of residents in long-term care homes and 65 per cent of residents in retirement homes in Simcoe County and Muskoka have received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, says Dr. Charles Gardner, the medical officer of health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. The Pfizer vaccine requires two does.
However, seniors living outside of long-term care or retirement homes will not be offered vaccination until the second phase of the province's plan. The Ontario government’s website says the plan is for stage two to roll out in March, but vaccine shortages has many questioning the timeline.
Gardner said mass vaccination clinics and, maybe, getting vaccine supplies to doctors' offices and pharmacies could occur this spring - provided vials of vaccine start flowing into the region soon.
“I am looking forward to getting a steady and increased supply of vaccine,” said Gardner. “The stage we’re at right now, is just getting enough to give second doses.”
Gardner said the local supply is so low the health unit borrowed some from Newmarket’s Southlake Regional Health Centre this week and plan to return the borrowed vaccine supply with the shipment headed for Simcoe-Muskoka today.
Currently, the health unit is collecting a contact list of health-care providers in the region to be used to reach out to the area's seniors when the time comes to offer the vaccine for seniors not living in long-term care or retirement homes.
Scott Maclagan, an 83-year-old Orillia resident, is struggling to understand why vaccinating area seniors isn’t a higher priority.
“It’s fine that they’ve gone ahead with long-term care because I can understand the need for that to be taken care of first, but there is no apparent plan communicated in regards to dealing with people over 80 who have compromised immune systems,” he said.
“There is no definitive dates or anything on when or how it will be done," he lamented. "When asking our doctor’s office, I was told they haven’t heard a thing. They don’t know; the government hasn’t even been keeping the medical staff up to date.”
Maclagan, who has written letters to provincial and local leaders, says the lack of transparency from the government is leaving vulnerable seniors fearful.
“They tell us that if we get the virus we are more likely than anyone to die,” he said. “It’s scary for all of us in this community. We are all in our 70s and 80s and even older, and we haven’t been told when and if precisely we will be vaccinated.”
Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop, in a written statement to OrilliaMatters, said the provincial government’s main priority right now is putting a stop to the COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care centres and retirement homes.
“Ensuring that all high-risk residents and workers in retirement homes have access to a COVID-19 vaccine is our government’s top priority as we continue with the roll-out of our vaccination distribution plan,” she said.
Dunlop says the provincial government would ideally have vaccines available to everybody right now, but that’s not the case. Only about 10% of Ontarians have been fully vaccinated as of this morning, she conceded.
“Due to the limited supplies we are receiving from the federal government, our initial distribution of vaccines is focused on our most vulnerable Ontarians - those who have higher risk outcomes from contracting the virus, and are at a higher risk of spreading the virus,” Dunlop said.
--With files from Erika Engel
