Punish vaccine queue-jumpers

The Ontario government must move quickly to stamp out the alarming incidents of queue-jumping for COVID-19 vaccinations before things get out of control as we move into the critical phase of the campaign.

Reports of some executives in seniors' homes abusing their positions — diverting vaccines meant for front-line workers for their own use — are deeply worrying, and this deplorable behaviour must not be tolerated. Queue-jumping is cheating and must be stopped.

The latest incident happened in an Ottawa retirement home, where a vaccine meant for a housekeeper was instead given to the wife of a manager. The selfishness of this manager is beyond measure. This home, which has had COVID-19 outbreaks during the pandemic, was among high-risk facilities prioritized for vaccines. After residents were vaccinated, a manager stepped in and had his wife vaccinated instead of the shot going to a housekeeper who has been toiling in the home and clearly is more vulnerable.

The incident came to light only after the workers complained to their union; two managers are no longer in their jobs.

What's troubling is that this may not be an isolated incident. There's growing suspicion that executives of some long-term care and retirement homes are diverting vaccines to family and friends, leaving out vulnerable front-line workers who need them the most. The suspicion intensified after two Toronto-area homes came under scrutiny when executives were accused of improperly administering vaccines, prompting the NDP to demand a provincial investigation.

The retirement homes regulatory authority is investigating a complaint that six people who were not eligible for vaccines, including the owner and his wife, received them at a Brantford home. A grievance has also been filed against a Woodridge long-term care home, where it is alleged ineligible people, including the chair of the board, received doses. In both cases, the executives involved said the doses were leftovers that would have gone to waste had they not been used. But it's rather convenient that family members who normally don't work in these homes just happened to be there at precisely the time leftovers needed to be used up.

What's troubling is that these incidents are occurring in, of all places, seniors' homes. Long-term care homes, long neglected by the Ontario government, took the brunt of the pandemic with countless loss of lives. Many front-line workers suffered, and they deserve better now that vaccines are available.

The province needs to take such incidents seriously. These incidents reveal lax oversight of the vaccine rollout in seniors' homes. Public health regulations call for staff and essential caregivers to be vaccinated when there are surplus doses, but that's not what seems to be happening.

Yes, it's inevitable that when vials are opened, there may be leftovers. But it appears as if there is little monitoring or supervision of people running homes, and they are left to do as they please with surplus vaccines. With what we know so far, some homes are operating outside the rules, and that should stop.

The vaccination campaign slowed down this month because of the delays in getting the required supplies from manufacturers, but if things pick up in the next few weeks, as Prime Minster Justin Trudeau says, there can be no room for any lapses. It doesn't matter that the malfeasance is in a few homes. This is the time to deal with any problems or kinks in the system, and however few, the abuses in seniors' homes must be nipped in the bud.

Ontario's vaccine task force has announced priorities for the next round of vaccinations, beginning with essential care workers in highrisk homes and others on top-priority lists.

Then, the race will be on, hopefully, for mass vaccination of Ontarians. Now's the time for the government to make clear that whoever engages in any form of abuse will pay a heavy price.

Yes, it's inevitable that when vials are opened, there may be leftovers. But it appears as if there is little monitoring or supervision of people running homes, and they are left to do as they please with surplus vaccines. With what we know so far, some homes are operating outside the rules, and that should stop. Mohammed Adam