Seniors on hold for second shots
Vaccine shortage delays inoculations in long-term care and retirement homes
A short supply of COVID-19 vaccines in Windsor-essex has prompted the local health unit to extend some long-term care and retirement home residents' wait for the shot.
While the Windsor-essex County Health Unit has distributed the vaccine to all but one facility in the region, some residents missed their inoculation the first time around because they were too ill to receive it. Many of those individuals have since recovered enough for immunization, but now there aren't enough doses of the Moderna vaccine left to vaccinate them this month.
“We're really monitoring the vaccine supply carefully to ensure we can start our second doses on time, which is 28 days from the first dose,” health unit CEO Theresa Marentette said on Wednesday.
The health unit delivered doses to all 19 long-term care homes in Windsor-essex from Jan. 1-12, getting shots in the arms of residents, essential caregivers and staff members who had not yet been immunized with the Pfizer vaccine at Windsor Regional Hospital.
Next, the health unit began rolling out immunizations to local retirement homes. The final such home is scheduled to receive a limited number of doses Thursday.
Public health unit staff have been circling back to facilities already visited to ensure anyone who wasn't vaccinated the first time around for health reasons could still receive the jab.
With the local vaccine supply dwindling, Marentette said some homes and the vulnerable people inside may have to wait awhile longer before the health unit visits again with vaccine doses.
“Even though we've made first visits and we've done a really good rollout, we will be making sure ... once more vaccine comes in, that we're able to vaccinate everyone who wants to be vaccinated.”
The province has told the health unit the next delivery of the Moderna vaccine will arrive in Windsor-essex at the start of February.
Administration of the Moderna vaccine's necessary second dose is slated to start in local long-term care and retirement homes on Jan. 28.
Long-term care and retirement home residents, staff and essential caregivers are members of the top priority group the province identified in its COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan. Joining them are health-care workers, adults in remote First Nations Metis and Inuit communities, and adult recipients of chronic home care.