York Region Public Health staff will now directly administer the Moderna vaccine to all residents, staff and essential caregivers at the region's 28 long-term care homes to meet the province's newly announced mandate that immunization be completed in COVID-19 hotspots by Jan. 21.
The local public health unit began delivering the vaccine to the region's long-term care homes last Saturday, Jan. 2, where the initial plan was to have staff there administer the vaccine to about 3,700 residents, with guidance from public health, according to Patrick Casey, York Region director of corporate communications.
All long-term care staff and essential caregivers were to receive the Pfizer vaccine at the region's three hospitals, Casey added.
"The Ontario government has now asked the public health units in these (priority) areas to administer the Moderna vaccine directly to all residents, staff and essential caregivers within the long-term care homes in an effort to expedite the initial phase one vaccination rollout," he said.
The province's announcement earlier today requires that all residents, health-care workers and essential caregivers at long-term care homes in the priority regions of Toronto, Peel, York and Windsor-Essex receive a COVID-19 vaccination by Jan. 21.
Nearly 3,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine were administered to 24 long-term care homes between Dec. 31 and Jan. 3, according to the province.
About 2 million vaccine doses are expected to arrive throughout the winter during the first phase of the province's vaccine implementation plan.
The first "small shipment" of 53,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine were received Dec. 30, which the province said it has allocated for long-term care homes in Toronto, York, Peel and Windsor-Essex.
