Vaccinations begin for long-term-care residents
Public health expects 500 doses to be delivered to residents by Thursday; Four businesses receive warnings for not following COVID-19 rules
Vaccinations of 1,102 residents at eight long-term-care homes in Peterborough city and county began Tuesday morning at Fairhaven long-term-care home.
The first recipient was 106year-old Fairhaven resident Elizabeth Campbell.
“It gives me and my staff great hope that we are now able to protect our most vulnerable residents from COVID-19 with the Moderna vaccine that arrived yesterday,” medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra said during a virtual press briefing on Tuesday.
Peterborough Public Health received its first 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine on Monday and plans to deliver them by Thursday to the long-termcare residents. Three other city and county long-term-care homes will receive the vaccine in the first round, but for security reasons the health unit is not disclosing at which homes until the vaccine has arrived inside each facility, Salvaterra said.
Salvaterra had been expecting the Pfizer vaccine, but she said on Tuesday that a disruption in the Pfizer supply meant the provincial government reallocated some doses so all Ontario communities can start vaccinating in their long-term-care homes this week.
The local supply was reallocated from University Health Network in Toronto, Salvaterra said.
Meanwhile, four Peterborough businesses were warned by Peterborough Public Health officials about infractions of COVID-19 prevention regulations, health unit officials also revealed Tuesday.
The health unit had received 43 public complaints over the past week of non-compliance with the COVID-19 measures and launched 22 investigations at 16 businesses and workplaces.
Four businesses were warned because of non-compliance with regulations, such as on masking for employees and customers, but no charges were laid.
Health unit environmental health manager Julie Ingram
said it was mainly because of people not understanding the rules rather than deliberately not following them.
The health unit does not plan to name businesses that are warned.
“We are not looking to put a target on any one business, we’re just focusing on the sector,” Ingram said.
She also urged at the briefing that families consider sending one person out shopping rather than the entire family shopping together for essentials.
Ingram said she knows that there will be times when child care is an issue and kids must accompany their parents to the store, but she asked that one family member go shopping whenever possible to decrease the number of people in stores.
Hiawatha First Nation Chief Laurie Carr also spoke at the briefing and urged people to reach out for help if they are struggling with issues of addiction or mental health.
She mentioned the Hope for Wellness Help Line for Indigenous people across Canada.
“We must all remember to take care of ourselves and to take care of each other during this time … Please reach out to your friends, your neighbours, your families,” Carr said.
Women and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef, the MP for Peterborough-Kawartha, also mentioned free online resources such as courses, apps and free counselling — all funded by the federal government — through the website Wellness Together Canada.
“I want everyone to know that it’s OK to not be OK right now,” Monsef said, urging people to reach out for free help.
Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith encouraged citizens to stay diligent because the stay-home order is helping.
“A lot of people have said lockdowns don’t work — they hurt more than they help,” Smith said. “The proof is in the pudding. We’ve gone from 3,500 (daily) infections as our rolling average, down to 2,300 today — things are looking better. Better times are coming.”