Province won’t let public health talk about vaccine supply

4,900 residents in 27 care homes and those in ‘high risk’ retirement homes to be vaccinated by Jan. 18

Hamiltonians remain in the dark about the state of our vaccine supply thanks to a gag order issued by the province.

But we know long-term-care residents are getting vaccinated. And Moderna is on its way.

On Monday, Hamilton’s medical officer of health confirmed the province had issued a directive to public health to stop sharing information about the city’s COVID vaccine supply. It remains unclear why the province issued the directive or if other public health units have been told the same.

The province did not respond to questions about why they’ve silenced public health. One expert thinks it might be an effort to pre-emptively stave off vaccine rollout criticism.

But there’s some good news: more than 8,000 people have been vaccinated in Hamilton as of Wednesday morning. That includes about 750 residents of long-term care.

Public health confirmed Wednesday residents at Idlewyld Manor, St. Peter’s Residence, Hamilton Continuing Care, Macassa Lodge and Shalom Village have all been vaccinated. Wentworth Heights residents were being vaccinated Wednesday and Arbour Creek and Grace Villa are scheduled for Thursday.

A total of 4,900 long-termcare residents in 27 homes and those in 10 “high risk” retirement homes are expected to be vaccinated via a mobile clinic by Jan. 18.

Hamilton’s fixed-site vaccination clinic is currently vaccinating around 1,000 people a day, including long-term-care staff and front-line hospital workers.

The last update Hamilton received about vaccine supply came last week: public health confirmed we had 6,000 of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. All doses came as part of one shipment that arrived the week of Dec. 21.

On Monday, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton’s medical officer of health, said: “I can tell you we continue to receive volumes as we move forward.”

As for the province’s silencing directive, Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, said it might be an attempt to quell criticism if vaccine rollout didn’t go as planned.

“(They’re) moving on the fly,” said Chagla of the province’s efforts to vaccinate Ontarians.

The province is juggling supply with demand, he said, and in some cases, it might have to take vaccines destined for arms in one region and send them to another.

Indeed, such a scenario unfolded Wednesday when the Niagara Health hospital organization wrote an open letter to the province, decrying the “inexplicable diversion” of promised Moderna vaccines.