Manitoba plans to roll out vaccine by age, starting with oldest residents in March

Manitobansgot their first look at the timeline showing when every adult in the province will get a chance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and for most that date is still months away.

Older adults living in the community couldstartgetting vaccinatedby March, while those in the youngest age category will have to wait until the fall or later,members of Manitoba's vaccine task force announced Monday.

"I know that Manitobans are anxious to be eligible," said Dr. Joss Reimer,medical lead for the taskforce.

"I know I've spoken to my own grandma, who's 93 and living in an assisted living facility,and she can't wait to be eligible, so I'm excited that she gets to see this list today."

Moredetails about the priority groups and timelines for expanding access to the vaccine were unveiledduring a technical briefing Wednesday.

Theplan wouldstartwith thoseolder than95, then move down inone-year increments.

The next groups in line to become eligible for the COVID-19vaccine include all health-careworkers who weren'tin the initial rollout, and staff and residents in congregate living settings considered at high or moderate risk.

A full list of which facilities will be prioritized will be released soon. The list will factor in the age of people living there, their health or cognitive status, the structure of facility (e.g. are people living in shared rooms?), and the income of residents.

Immunizationteams that are expected to finishvaccinations at allremaining personal care homes this weekwill next head tolong-stay hospitals and supportive housing facilities,followed by correctional facilities, homeless shelters andtransitional housing facilities,starting by the first weekof February.

Thetimelines for when different groups becomeeligible for the vaccine varydepending on supply volume. Under the province's high-supply scenario, Manitobans in the youngest age category 18 to 29 couldstartgetting vaccinated by the end of August.

That scenario assumes 70 per cent uptake among eligible groups,with 700,000 doses of currently unapproved product arriving in the third quarter.

Under the low supply scenario, which assumes no new products are approved in Canada, Manitobans over 80 will still start getting vaccinated in March, but people in the youngest age group won't become eligible until October.

WATCH | Dr. Joss Reimer on vaccine prioritization lists

Dr. Joss Reimer on vaccine prioritization lists

4 years ago

Duration 1:26

Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for the province's vaccine task force, says she understands Manitobans are anxious to receive the vaccine but ensures that officials are working as hard as possible.

Once vaccines become available to the general population, appointments will be booked using the call centre currently used by front-line health workers, as well as an online booking form.

The province plans to launch an online calculator that will give Manitobans an estimated date when they could expect to get their vaccine.

Essential workers not included

Currently, only front-line health-care workers providing direct patient care in high-risk settings like critical care units, residents and staff of personal care homes, and peopleat risk living in First Nations communities are getting shots.

No details werereleased about whether or which essential workers willget priority access. Dr. Joss Reimer,medical lead for the taskforce, said consultationswith stakeholders will take place over the next couple of months before a decisionis made.

"I would love to offer to every Manitoban the opportunity to get vaccinated today.What we're doing is we're basing our decisions on the science that we have in front of us," Reimer said.

Further consultations and analysis will look atworkplace safety as well as health and epidemiologic factors to determine whether any groups of essentialworkers will be included. Those workers would be eligible by ageif they are included, Reimer said.

WATCH | 'I would love to offer to every Manitoban the opportunity to get vaccinated today'

'I would love to offer to every Manitoban the opportunity to get vaccinated today'

4 years ago

Duration 1:19

Dr. Joss Reimer on why essential workers, people with severe health conditions are not included in this vaccine roll out.

The province also did not specifically include a separate category for peoplewith compromised immune systemsor other underlying health conditionsliving in the wider community.

"There's no approach that's going to capture Manitobans in a perfect order of their risks of having severe outcomes, but what we've done is we've looked at the studies that exist and they've consistently shown that the age-basedapproach captures the best proportion [of high-risk people],"Reimer said.

She added that "nothing is set in stone" and the team will review the priority list regularly as the science on the vaccines evolves and they learn more about future supplies.

The province had planned to release this information last week, before shipment delays forced them to change course.

Health Minister Heather Stefanson said there is "no playbook" for how a vaccine rollout on this scale should work, and said the province is committed to providing as much informationas possibleas soon as they receive it.

"Maybe we have been a little too cautious in getting out information, but when situations are changing day to day, and in the case of vaccine supplies, some times hour by hour, we wanted to make sure we had all the questions answered before releasing the information.

"I realize now that we can't wait for perfection, so we will provide as much information as possible as soon as we can, recognizing, of course, that things will change," Stefanson said.

WATCH |No 'playbook' to follow for vaccine rollout: Stefanson

No 'playbook' to follow for vaccine rollout: Stefanson

4 years ago

Duration 1:11

Health minister Heather Stefanson acknowledges vaccine rollout has been challenging but pledges more transparency going forward.

Expanding into rural Manitoba

Starting Feb. 8, the province willlaunch a limited number of regional vaccinationhubs, starting with clinics in FlinFlon andThe Pas. Consultationswith communities and the healthregions are happening to determine the exact location of future sites.

The clinics inFlin FlonandThe Paswere addedafter consultations with the NorthernHealth Region, in order to augment the capacity of the supersiteopening in Thompson on Feb. 1.

Two more supersites are being planned for the Interlake-Eastern andSouthern health regions andwill be ready to launch March 1, although whether theyopentheir doorson that date will dependon Manitoba receiving adequate supplies of vaccines, Reimer said.

Based on current estimates, the provincial government says Manitoba ranks third among the provinces in terms of getting people their second dose of the vaccines currently approved in Canada, behind Ontario and Prince Edward Island. Both vaccines require a second dose.

WATCH | Full news conference on COVID-19 | Jan. 27, 2021: