P.E.I. on track to meet vaccination goals, chief nurse says

P.E.I.'s chief of nursing says the province is on track to meet its goal of having 15,000 Islanders from priority groupsvaccinated by the end of March and hopes 80 per cent of the population will opt to get the vaccine by the end of summer.

Marion Dowling said front-line health-care workers began getting their second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Wednesday, and the uptake at long-term care facilities has been strong.

P.E.I. chief nurse Marion Dowling on how the Island's vaccination plan is working

4 years ago

Duration 6:32

'We are doing well in comparison with other jurisdictions across the country for sure, and we are making sure that we are focused on those priority groups,' Marion Dowling says.

"We are doing well in comparison with other jurisdictions across the country for sure and we are making sure that we are focused on those priority groups and getting it done as safely and as efficiently as possible," she said in an interview with CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin.

Dowling said a steering committee will decide which groups receive the vaccine next, based on local epidemiology and who is at most risk of contracting the virus or "having severe consequences if they do contract the virus."

She said a broader rollout would include vaccinations provided at pharmacies and doctors' offices.

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