York Region's top doc says first vaccines expected in 2 weeks

Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket and Mackenzie Health in Richmond Hill will be first to receive the vaccines, Dr. Karim Kurji said

Newmarkettoday.ca
Dec. 11, 2020
Alan S Hale

York Region medical officer of health Dr. Karim Kurji anticipates that the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in the region within the next two weeks, but it will likely be next spring before most residents can be immunized.

The plan is to first deliver the vaccine to Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket and Mackenzie Health in Richmond Hill for innoculation of heath-care workers.

Canada approved a vaccine created by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on Dec. 9, with several other manufacturers seeking approval over the next several weeks.

Once it arrives, said Kurji, the first phase of the rollout effort will begin.

“We are looking at a phased approach, and the first phase will involve providing it to residents and staff in long-term care settings, seniors, health-care workers, essential caregivers, and people in First Nations communities, and recipients of chronic home care,” Kurji told regional council today.

The characteristics of each vaccine will have a large impact on how they are distributed, said Kurji.

For instance, the Pfizer vaccine must be refrigerated at -70C for no more than five days, and it has to be used within six hours once removed from refrigeration and the diluent added.

Pfizer is also recommending that the vaccine not be moved around more than is absolutely necessary, which could make delivering it to long-term care facilities difficult. With that in mind, Kurji said it might be best for medical staff to receive the Pfizer vaccine first.

“When we look at the logistics of the vaccines, we have found ways that it could be delivered to long-term care homes, however, this may not jive with what the manufacturer recommended... and I know we have to take those recommendations seriously if we are going to continue having a supply of the vaccine,” he said. “So there are discussions going on for what will be the best approach will be for here.”

Kurji said public health will be working closely with the hospitals, which have their own expertise in vaccination. His staff plan to do a walk-though at both facilities in the next few days.

He said it's likely that the vaccine that will be most used in York Region is the one manufactured by Moderna, which has much less stringent storage and transportation requirements but is not approved in Canada yet.

York Region is well equipped to handle large shipments of vaccines once they become available, said Kurji. The new state-of-the-art vaccine depot has been operating for three months, has several fridges ready with more on the way, including a special freezer being provided by the province.

Even though the first round of vaccines will arrive in weeks, Kurji said it will be many months before everyone gets a chance to be immunized.

Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua said people shouldn't be expecting a magic bullet, and prepare to be in this "for the long haul."

“The reality is we need to learn to live with the virus. Forget about the vaccines and everything else for one sec. If every time numbers spike up and you are shutting down the economy all the time, psychologically, that is not sustainable. People are always in a state of anxiety, which is not normal for anyone," said Bevilacqua.

“I do think they need to put some kind of weight on us a society to live with the virus. If not, the only response we will ever have is to look at numbers and shut down the economy. That’s not sustainable."