Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Over 30,000 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine product is expected to arrive in KFLA over the course of May.
That represents an increase of over 10,000 doses that were given out throughout April, says KFLA Public Health medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore.
“The province now has quite a stable supply of Pfizer going forward and predicted through to June,” said Moore during a Skype call with local media on Tuesday. “So for us, in KFLA from May 3-9, we will be receiving 5,850 doses of Pfizer and these will be distributed among our partners which includes the Kingston Community Health Centre, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, the Invista Centre, the Strathcona Paper Centre and some other primary care partners. Our baseline has been around 4,800 doses so for May 3 it will go up to 5,850 and that will be repeated for the week of May 10-16, where we’ll receive 5,850 doses and then May 17-23 it’s anticipated we’ll receive 9,360 doses and then again May 24-30, 9,360 doses.”
The increase means more age groups will soon be eligible to roll up their sleeves and get their COVID-19 shot.
“As the number of doses increases it’s anticipated that we’ll be able to broaden the number of people who are eligible to receive the vaccine and we’ll be working with all of our partners to provide the vaccine to make sure that it’s accessible and available and also to inform the public the criteria by which you become eligible,” said Moore. “Currently it’s 60 and above for the Invista and Strathcona Paper Centres and there are other high risk medical conditions that we’re trying to provide immunization for and that’s working well with our Kingston Health Science Centre and Community Health Centre immunization centres.”
Moore said high-risk groups, including First Nations, Inuit and Metis individuals will be among the priority to get vaccinated over the coming weeks. Starting Thursday, childcare workers from licensed daycares will be eligible to begin booking vaccination appointments. They will require a letter from their employer that indicates they work for a licensed daycare. Moore expects eligibility will soon be expanded to those in non-licensed day care settings.
To date Moore says 40 per cent of the adult community in KFLA has been given at least one dose. The arrival of the Pfizer product over the next month will bring that number to over half. While Moore said he’d welcome any additional vaccines offered to the community, he understands the province’s plan of sending more supply to ‘hot spots’.
“Given that we’re already at 40 per cent this will get us to almost 50 plus per cent of our overall population immunized, we’re well on the right direction from our vantage point,” said Moore. “I absolutely see the need for additional vaccine in the hot spots in Ontario and we need a Team Ontario approach and when we get any additional vaccine we will be able to put needle in arms because we’re ready in KFLA through all our partnerships.”