Ottawa COVID-19 vaccination campaign focusing on second doses while supply remains short

By Mike Vlasveld

The City of Ottawa wants to make sure long-term care home (LTCH) residents and front-line healthcare workers are properly immunized while the local COVID-19 vaccine supply remains limited and unpredictable.

Even though the city hasn't received any of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines yet, and its doesn't have any dates for incoming deliveries of either of the vaccines, it says LTCH, high-risk retirement home residents and their essential caregivers, who have received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine, will receive their second dose in 21 to 27 days.

Staff who were vaccinated in the homes at the same time as the residents will follow the same schedule, according to the city, Monday, January 18. All other recipients of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine must receive their second dose after 21 days and before 42 days.

As of last Friday, January 15, the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine had been made available to all 28 long-term care homes in Ottawa, and the city says 92 per cent of all LTCH residents have taken it.

The city says the Pfizer-BioNtech delay, announced by the federal government late last week, means it can expect to be limited to 50 per cent of the amount of vaccines thought it would get over the next month.

As supply allows, the city says the focus will shift to higher risk retirement homes identified by Ottawa Public Health. Select congregate care settings for older adults and high-risk healthcare workers will follow under Phase 1 of the Provincial approach. Other Phase 1 populations to be immunized are adult members of First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities and adults with chronic home care.

So far, 21,938 doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine have been administered in Ottawa since December 14.

Starting Monday, the number of vaccines received and vaccines administered will appear in the Ottawa Public Health (OPH) COVID-19 Daily Dashboard and will initially reside on the 'Vaccination and Testing' page. These numbers will be updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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