‘This is highly disappointing’: Ministry alerts York Region police to Vaughan LTC vaccine scandal

Politicians need to ‘step in and make sure that the system is equitable' for vaccine distribution

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 16, 2021
Dina Al-Shibeeb

The Ministry of Health told the Vaughan Citizen that it “immediately took action” after a claim that leftover vaccines at a Vaughan long-term-care (LTC) home were given to non-front-line staff and relatives of its board members around mid-January.

The claim is from a nurse who was ordered to administer the shots at Villa Leonardo Gambin, who spoke under the condition of anonymity to the media in fear of reprisal and complained to the LiUNA Local 3000 union.

While a spokesperson for Villa Leonardo Gambin’s board of directors has already confirmed that these leftover shots were “offered to non-front-line staff who work or volunteer for the residence and specific family members of staff and volunteer board members,” the LTC home is also investigating another claim that an unknown number of Moderna doses were removed from the residence and administered elsewhere.

ANY REACTION FROM THE GOVERNMENT?

Both a statement by Michael Tibollo, MPP for Vaughan-Woodbridge, and a statement from the Ministry of Health read, “Upon learning of alleged unauthorized removal of vaccine doses, the Ministry of Health immediately took action and ensured the issue was brought to the attention of the York Regional Police Service.”

“The ministry is also looking into the allegation of individuals not in the identified priority populations being vaccinated,” they added.

“If these allegations are proven to be correct, this is completely unacceptable, and the ministry continues to work with its health system partners to ensure the guidance and information provided is clearly understood by all partners regarding the prioritization of populations for COVID-19 vaccines.”

There is already an ethical framework and guidance for prioritizing health-care workers for COVID-19 vaccination.

“In order to ensure that all COVID-19 vaccine doses in a given day are used, we encourage our hospital and health-care partners to use leftover doses (e.g. from a missed appointment slot) to vaccinate others on site, such as health-care workers, in line with the ethical framework.”
CITIZEN CALLS IT ‘ABUSE OF POWER’

Richard Lorello, an activist citizen -- especially when it comes to municipal affairs -- called this situation both an abuse of power and disappointing.

Lorello, who has a daughter who is a health-care worker, explained how the hospital told her that if she is living with her parents, her mother and father would be eventually eligible for a vaccine.

“I told my daughter, ‘That's nice. But, you know, I'd rather somebody else get this,” he added, citing how there are many seniors out there not living at LTC homes but at home with underlying conditions.

“This is highly, highly disappointing for the community at large. And (if) we're going to say that we're an advanced industrial country, then this is no way to behave.”

With the plethora of databases on seniors, Lorello said, “It wouldn't take much for them to know that these people do exist.”

“If there's extra vaccine, then they should be the first ones to get it.”

When asking the City of Vaughan for comments from the mayor and asking Coun. Tony Carella of Woodbridge, both said that at a municipal level they don’t have “any jurisdiction over COVID-19 vaccination distribution in York Region.”

However, Lorello said that politicians at all three levels -- federal, provincial and municipal -- should “step in and make sure that the system is equitable, and the most vulnerable people aren't getting them, period. And there's no excuse for it.”

“They need to talk to help these people because whether they're in an LTC or not, the seniors are the ones that have been taking the brunt of this,” he added. “As a society, if we don't look after our most vulnerable, then we have failed as a civilization.”