Mayor says COVID-19 vaccine distribution will be pricey, and Hamilton will need help

Municipalities across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area are developing plans to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine, says Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger, but will need more staffing and financial help to be able to do it.

The mayors and chairs from 11 of the largest municipal governments across the GTAmeet every week to talk about the COVID-19 response in their regions.

The group saysthe responsibilities of each level of government need to be "clearly spelled out," saidEisenbergerin a media release, so that they're successful in getting the vaccine out.

Distribution will be pricey and a lot of work, he said.

"The responsibilities to be borne by municipalities will be extensive and expensive," said the release, "and as a result there will be a need for both human resource and financial assistance to municipalities in carrying out their assigned duties."

The group of municipalities also wants to hear from other governmentsabout restarting financial assistance to account forCOVID-19 related shortfalls in the new year, the release said.

Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, the city's medical officer of health, called the vaccine a "high-interest issue" in a board of health meeting on Monday.

"Very exciting as it moves forward, but we don't have any idea as to how this will translate into actual timing as we go forward," she said.

Limited supply in 1st quarter of 2021

Health Minister Christine Elliott said Ontario is expected to receive 2.4 million doses of vaccines in the first three months of 2021. Of those, 1.6million would be from Pfizer, and 800,00 doses would be the Moderna vaccine.

They haven't been approved by Health Canada yet. Arolling approval process is what's speeding things along, said Richardson.

"Rather than wait for all theevidence to be gathered together, and then given to the National Advisory Committee and Health Canada to go through it, they're going through all the information as it comes in and getting responses back basically in real time," she said.

A sub-group of the Hamilton COVID Response Table is working on the issue, and the Emergency Operations Centre planning group is also helping, said Richardson. They're alsocollaborating with the hospitals and family medicine in the city.

"It is this group here in Hamilton, of providers along with public health, that are going to be ones ultimately to put the vaccines into people's arms," she said.

They anticipate a limited supply of the vaccine in the first quarter of 2021, which Richardson saidwill roll out from 2021 into 2022.

"We have identified some of the sites that we might be able to do vaccination, but as we get this new information that the province is putting out, we'll be looking to finalize that," she said in a separate media briefing.

She also confirmedthat Hamilton has the specific type of freezers needed to store the Pfizer vaccine. They're currently used for research purposes, although she did not say how many there were.Richardson alsonotedthat the packaging the vaccine is shipped in helps maintain it.

Who will get the vaccine first isdecided by Health Canada and the province, she said, though the National Advisory Committee has given its advice for priority groups.

Vulnerable seniors, their caregiversand health-care workers will be prioritized in the first phase, said the province.Adults in Indigenous communities, retirement homes, and recipients of chronic home health-care will also be prioritized.

With the holidays upcoming, Eisenberger encouraged people to continue to stay home to slow the spread of the virus.

"There is no doubt this holiday season will look different than in years past, however staying apart now will make it so that when we are able to gather again, no one is missing," he said in a media release.

75 new cases in Hamilton

There are 75 new cases of COVID-19 in Hamilton, and 634 are active as of Tuesday.

One more person has died after contracting the virus, bringing total deaths to 102.

The woman who died was in her mid-80s, says the city, and was from St. Joseph's Villa, which is currently experiencing an outbreak where 45 people have tested positive.She died on Dec. 4.

There have been3,747cases thathave been resolved.

One staff member has tested positive at Macassa Lodge, and the city declared an outbreak on Monday.

There is also an ongoing outbreak at Lawfield Elementary School.

Hamilton Health Sciences is currently caring for 41 patients with COVID-19, and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton is caring for seven.

Juravinski Hospital outbreak

Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) says there are now 24 people with the virus in relation to the three units at theJuravinski Hospital and Cancer Centrecurrently experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak.

The units affected are the E3, B3 and F5 wards.

Thirteen patients have the virus, and 11 of those remain at the hospital. Nine staff members and two learners also have COVID-19, says HHS.

No visitors to the units are allowed, except on compassionate grounds, says HHS.

A media release says staff working in any outbreak unit won't work anywhere elseuntil the outbreak is over. They may be allowed to work in other units where an outbreak has been declared.

HHS says, to date, it hasn't associated any of the cases with non-compliance. Staff and physicians are constantly reminded to follow distancing and masking rules, and there are enough PPE supplies available.

HHSalso says health care workers who work on the three units have been, or will be tested, as well as any staff, physicians and learners who might have spent time there.

Haldimand-Norfolk

There have been686confirmed casesof COVID-19 in Haldimand and Norfolk, including 27 that are active and 622 that are recovered.

Thirty-two deaths are related to COVID-19.

Niagara

The region has recorded2,350casesover the course of the pandemic, which is 33 more than on Monday.

Of those, 228 are active and 2,035 are resolved.

There are 87 people in Niagara with COVID-19 who have died.

There are 15outbreaks ongoing.

Brant

There have been fournew cases reported in Brant and Brantford over the past 24 hours.

The area has reported561confirmed casesand five deaths throughout the pandemic.

Forty-eightcases were active on Tuesday, while 508 were resolved.

Five people withthe virus are in hospital.

Halton

The number of COVID-19 cases in Haltonrose by 92 on Tuesday to4,191.

Statistics on the region's website show 421 of those are active, while 3,698are resolved.

Twenty-one of the new cases are in Burlington, which has 135 active cases.

Seventy-two people in Halton have died after being infected with the virus.