NO CONCERNS AS 360 DOSES OF ASTRAZENECA GIVEN TO MUSKOKANS 60-64 THIS WEEK
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
MUSKOKA — More vaccines, more people, more inoculations and more good news — finally.
After weeks and months of concern in Muskoka over the pandemic and vaccine rollout, the arrival of additional — if limited — doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine is a small, but welcoming comfort to many Muskokans.
Doctors and nurse practitioners with the district’s two Family Health Teams (FHTs) in Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Huntsville received 360 doses over the weekend and began poking arms this week in a provincial pilot program run through the health unit.
However, only for those aged 60 to 65.
The north and south of Muskoka got equal amounts.
The health unit said today 900 people region-wide have received the same AZ vaccine this way.
This as the health unit issued a letter (see more on it below) Tuesday to Muskokans trying to mollify them and assuage some resident concerns about the vaccine rollout.
Lorraine Johnston, executive director of the Cottage Family Health Team in south Muskoka, said they only learned of the opportunity “about the middle of last week.”
After weekend training of staff, nurses began injections Tuesday morning with 30 appointments at their Gravenhurst office located at the Town Hall building.
And 10 at the Bracebridge site, which began in the afternoon at the Bracebridge Medical Arts Centre.
About 50 more appointments were planned for today.
She said they expect to have dispensed all doses by Thursday.
The Ministry of Health “wanted to make sure we had the infrastructure up and running before we began seeing patients.”
And while there was no shortage of demand, it is up to the primary care givers to decide who on their patient roster “they will call” to receive the limited supply.
But patients “will need to meet the criteria that public health has set out for us,” said Johnston.
It could be done alphabetically or based on say those aged 64 first or those most in need.
“You want to choose a fair and equitable way to do it. It’s really left to the individual practices.”
“The message to the community is that as we get the vaccine we will be reaching out to the clients.”
Or — don’t call us we’ll call you.
Mike Schell, 64, of Bracebridge, said he got the call Monday to be in Gravenhurst Tuesday.
And Glen Davis, 62, of Gravenhurst was another one happy to be called in to the CCFHT office in Gravenhurst.
Johnston said: “Our hope is that if we can respond and get these vaccines out quickly that the ministry will go here’s group in the pilot that were successful we’ll give them more.”
She added she hadn’t heard of anyone rejecting the AstraZeneca vaccine given concerns in recent days.
“No we haven’t. Our guidance from public health is that it’s safe to give and they’re giving it to us to give to our clients.”
Doctors and nurses from the FHTs are also working in the two permanent clinics at the Bracebridge Sportsplex and Huntsville Summit Centre where the Pfizer vaccine is being used.
Johnston hasn’t heard if the Moderna vaccine will be made available to them. But would welcome it.
“It changes daily.”
She said “the reason we can deliver the AstraZeneca in the offices is that the systems is very similar to other vaccines. We don’t need the super cold settings. We just need our regular fridges that are monitored for temperatures. So they’re safe to save the vaccine in.”
Said Johnston: “Our goal within our offices is to set up a good safe way to deliver the vaccine we’re given and continue to hope that we receive more vaccinations for our clients.”
It was the same story in Huntsville, said Janine van den Heuvel, executive director of the Algonquin Family Health Team.
She said the FHTs “aren’t really in control, it’s public health and provincial public health.”
And Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is just part of the pilot project.
She said some of the doctors’ offices picked up vaccines beginning Friday and physicians received their training over the weekend from Ontario MD, a company that supports physicians with technology.
She said “all of the physicians were approaching it a little differently” on who is first on the list. “And all of the physicians have decided what’s best for their roster of patients.
“What I can tell you is that because it is a pilot we didn’t get a lot of vaccine allotment.”
She said Huntsville has 26 physicians and two nurse practitioners spread out across the town associated with the AFHT.
The nurse practitioner offices are in Dorset and at the Summit Centre, where there is still a COVID Assessment Centre operating.
“This is the exciting part really. This is why we can do this in the physician offices because this vaccine is stored like a regular (flu) vaccine. So it’s not like the Pfizer vaccine that needs to be kept at the ultra cold temperature.”
“I’m sure they went pretty fast,” Van den Heuvel said.
“The important part of this pilot is that we were able to get the training and get the process in place to do it. So that when we do get the larger volumes of the vaccine we’re ready to go.”
Meanwhile COVID testing continues.
She said people are still going to get tested for various reasons, including symptoms and surgeries, for school.
“Still lots of testing.”
This yesterday as Dr. Charles Gardner, MOH for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit issued a letter to Muskokans explaining its vaccine rollout to its northernmost residents.
“To the people who live, work, and obtain their health care in the District of Muskoka …, he said SMDHU “is committed to provide vaccination to all who are eligible, working with our communities and partners, beginning with those who need it most, as quickly as we can with the supply we receive.
“I am aware of concerns raised regarding access to COVID-19 vaccination in the District of Muskoka, and a desire for vaccination clinics to be established in addition to the two present locations in Huntsville and Bracebridge.”
He said these clinic locations were chosen with careful consideration by a regional planning table of representatives from the area municipalities within the District of Muskoka, as well as representation from both the Cottage Country Family Health Team and Algonquin Family Health Teams, the Muskoka Algonquin Health Care, and from the Muskoka and Area Ontario Health Team.
Gardner said over time there will be additional opportunities for people to be vaccinated throughout Muskoka.
He said pop-up clinics will occur as the vaccine program continues through the coming weeks and months.
Communities that have been identified for immunization outreach in Muskoka by the regional planning table include those located in the Townships of Lake of Bays, Georgian Bay, and Muskoka Lakes as well as Gravenhurst.
Mobile clinics will also continue to provide immunization to those in community congregate facility settings that need it most and are unable to attend the fixed location clinics as well as other priority populations benefiting from outreach.
In addition, the health unit is looking into the potential to provide vaccination in the future through at least some primary care practices; in such instances primary care offices would contact eligible patients for vaccination, and so we do ask that people not contact their family medicine practitioner on this.
“We appreciate that having to travel to another community for a vaccination can be difficult, and so the District of Muskoka has partnered with Hammond Transportation Ltd (please call 705-645-2583 to book your trip) to transport eligible individuals to the vaccination clinics located in Bracebridge and Huntsville.
It’s on-demand, curb-to-curb service any district resident with a vaccine appointment can use, free of charge.
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