Most vulnerable first best strategy for vaccine distribution

If we look back on 2020 as the year when COVID-19 changed everything and shut down many of our usual activities, we can look forward to 2021 as the year when a vaccine becomes widely available.

Two vaccines have already been approved in Canada and the rollout began in December as the first shots were put into the arms of Canadians.

While there is reason to hope we may see greater control of this virus later this year, we need to remain aware that there's still much we don't know about how this will play out. We must continue to allow sound medical advice to guide our response to this threat.

While the available vaccines have been shown to be effective, we have seen the rise of at least two mutations of COVID-19 in the world and it isn't totally clear yet what impact this will have. We do know that the variant in Britain is much more contagious but apparently not more lethal; it has been identified as being active in Canada, so we need to remain committed to the public health measures that have been shown to be effective in controlling the spread.

Even if the present vaccines are effective against all mutations of COVID-19 that arise, these measures will be with us for a long time, as it will take months to vaccinate enough of the population to create herd immunity. There are also many people out there who need to be convinced to get the vaccine in the first place.

It's critical we allow medical experts to guide us in how the vaccines get distributed. While each province and territory have made their own plans, all have focussed on front-line health care workers and those living in long-term care as being the most vulnerable and therefore first in line to receive their shots. While the rest of us might want to be vaccinated sooner, we generally accept that those who are most vulnerable should be the first to get protected and wait our turn.

Sadly, there are some in Canada, including the leader of the Conservative Party, who object to those living in our federal institutions being among some of the first wave of vaccinations. Medical experts have clearly noted that those who live in aggregate settings, such as long-term care and prisons, are most vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.

In prison, people cannot easily maintain social distancing; in order to effectively do so, they would need to essentially stay in their cells all day, which is tantamount to solitary confinement. This is cruel and not sustainable in the long run. If there is spread inside prisons and those incarcerated require medical treatment, they would receive this care in our hospitals like the rest of the population, thus putting additional strain on our health care system.

We are all in this together and, in order to move beyond this challenge, we all have to play a part. We have been successful here in Atlantic Canada because we were diligent in following the directives of our public health experts. We need to continue to follow their advice as we vaccinate those who are most vulnerable, regardless of the reasons they find themselves in a vulnerable living situation. It's the smartest thing to do from a public health perspective but, more importantly, it's the most compassionate and Canadian approach to ending this pandemic. We have seen quite clearly from our neighbours to the south what can happen when medical advice is ignored and the pursuit of political power is prioritized by those in charge.