The rapid rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in York Region has slowed as supplies dwindle and there's no word on new deliveries.
While York Region met the province’s mandate to complete the first doses of vaccinations for residents, staff and caregivers in long-term care homes by today, Jan. 21, it has halted the rollout of its supply of the Moderna vaccine to retirement homes as of Tuesday, according to York Region spokesperson Patrick Casey.
York Region has received a total of 9,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine — including 600 doses received last Friday, Jan. 15, and 8,400 doses on Dec. 31 — of which nearly 7,000 have been delivered to the region’s 28 long-term care homes and retirement homes.
Nearly 2,900 long-term care residents and more than 1,300 staff and essential caregivers in long-term care homes have been inoculated, Casey said.
About 1,600 residents and nearly 100 staff and caregivers in retirement homes have also been immunized, he said.
However, delivery of the Moderna vaccine to retirement homes has stopped, Casey said, as the nearly 2,200 remaining doses are being held back to complete the required second doses for long-term care home residents, staff and essential caregivers.
Immunization with the Pfizer vaccine continued in retirement homes last weekend and on Monday, he added.
At Newmarket’s vaccination centre, where Southlake Regional Health Centre has been administering the Pfizer vaccine to health-care and other essential workers, a total of 8,500 doses had been administered as of Jan. 19, according to hospital spokesperson Kathryn Perrier.
Of the 2,000 remaining doses in Southlake's supply, the majority are now allocated for second doses, Perrier said.
York Region Public Health continues to work with the Ontario Ministry of Health to confirm additional delivery of vaccine doses, Casey said.
There are more than 3,700 long-term care residents and more than 3,400 retirement residents in the region.
“As more and more vaccine becomes available, we’ll be moving into other groups, but we have to work very closely with the province to ensure an equitable distribution of the vaccine across the province,” medical officer of health Dr. Karim Kurji said in his weekly video update Monday.
The focus of the vaccine rollout remains on vulnerable populations, and those who care for them, until more supply becomes available.
Earlier this week, the province announced the first round of vaccinations were completed in all long-term care homes in the COVID-19 hotspots in Toronto, Peel, York and Windsor-Essex, with first doses also underway in long-term care homes in the Ottawa, Durham and Simcoe Muskoka District.
More than 40 per cent of all long-term care homes across the province have had an opportunity to receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 83,000 long-term care residents, staff and essential caregivers have been vaccinated, according to an Ontario government news release.
Ontario is aiming to have the vaccine administered in all long-term care homes across the province by Feb. 15.
Due to the reduction of Canada’s supply of the Pfizer vaccine announced by the manufacturer on Jan. 15, Ontario chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams updated direction on the administration of second doses:
- Long-term care and high-risk retirement home residents, essential caregivers and staff who had received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine will receive second doses in 21 to 27 days;
- All other recipients of the Pfizer vaccine must receive their second dose after 21 days and before 42 days.
- For individuals who received the Moderna vaccine, the dose schedule of 28 days is unchanged.
As of Jan. 20, the province reports that a total of 253,817 doses have been administered, and more than 40,200 vaccines are complete with two doses administered.
When will you get your vaccine?
“We know residents remain curious about when they might receive the COVID-19 vaccine, should they choose to receive one," Casey said.
To help educate and raise awareness around the prioritization of vaccines to all Canadians, he refers residents to a third-party vaccine calculator.
The calculator is based on the national guidelines priority list released by the federal government — assuming vaccines are approved and delivered as scheduled, he added.
Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get your vaccine within that timeline.
The information and predictions provided through the calculator are subject to change and do not factor in provincial rollout plans for priority recipients, he added.
Updates are provided when available at york.ca/covid19vaccine
