Chronically ill people get shot of good news
Niagara woman welcomes word she’ll get COVID vaccine sooner
Wendy Stewart has done everything she can to protect herself from COVID-19, fearing the virus would have a devastating impact on her.
The 66-year-old takes immunosuppressants to help control symptoms and keep the rare disease of the central nervous system she suffers from, called neurosarcoidosis, in remission.
She fears that makes her and others with compromised immune systems more susceptible to the virus, which so far has claimed the lives of at least 369 Niagara residents.
“We are more susceptible to serious complications than a healthy person,” she said.
Stewart said she has remained within her Thorold home as much as possible, limiting herself to only necessary trips and visits to the grocery store.
“It starts to get to you sometimes,” she said.
“I don’t feel safe going out into the community. I know vaccine isn’t the be-all and end-all, but it’s an extra layer of protection,” she added.
She’s one of several Niagara residents who have contacted the newspaper, concerned people with chronic illness living in the community weren’t being identified as a priority group for receiving a COVID-19 vaccinations.
But that changed Friday. The province announced it will accelerate access to the vaccine, allowing people with chronic illnesses to get their first dose starting in April —
months before they would have received it under the previous plan.
There are 920,000 extra doses of vaccines to be given to health units in the GTA, Hamilton, Niagara, Ottawa, Simcoe-muskoka, Waterloo, the Guelph area, Windsor-essex and the southwest around St. Thomas.
In a media release, Health Minister Christine Elliott said, “Ontario’s vaccine rollout is making a positive difference and helping to save the lives of
some of our most vulnerable.”
“We continue to ramp up capacity and are committed to administering as many doses, as quickly as possible to every Ontarian who wants a vaccine,” she said.
It was welcome news to Stewart.
“That’s reassuring to know,” she said.
In an email, Niagara’s acting medical officer of health Dr. Mustafa Hirji said “many people with underlying medical conditions are concerned about their risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 and rightly so.”
“It is important that this
group take precautions to protect themselves. And it is important for all of us with lower risk to take those same precautions so that we don’t inadvertently spread infection to those more vulnerable.”
Despite having chronic conditions, he said, research has shown that age remains the predominant risk factor.
“Age is a huge outlier as a risk factor and contributes far more risk of death than any medical condition,” Hirji said.