Rick Walker a Maintenance Supervisor at Riverview Gardens Long-Term Care Home in Chatham was the first health care worker in Chatham-Kent to get vaccinated at the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the John Bradley Convention Centre. February 23, 2021. (Photo submitted by CKHA)Rick Walker a Maintenance Supervisor at Riverview Gardens Long-Term Care Home in Chatham was the first health care worker in Chatham-Kent to get vaccinated at the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the John Bradley Convention Centre. February 23, 2021. (Photo submitted by CKHA)
Chatham

CK MOH hopes to start vaccinating general public in a few weeks

The medical officer of health for Chatham-Kent hopes to offer a COVID-19 vaccination to everyone in Chatham-Kent who wants one in a few weeks.

Chatham-Kent Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby said with more Pfizer, Moderna, and Oxford AstraZzeneca vaccines being delivered to Canada and others such as Johnson and Johnson awaiting approval by Health Canada, he projects the local vaccine distribution will be accelerated.

Colby said more than 7,000 vaccines have been administered at the mass vaccination clinic at the John Bradley Convention Centre in Chatham since it opened on Saturday. He believes the clinic will continue running next week by appointment only, even though this week's vaccine supply will run out on Friday. He said he's still waiting on word from the province about the next shipment and added the vaccine supply has been a challenge.

"The clinic is going great guns. My goal is to rocket through the priority groups," he said. "I see the supply lines opening up tremendously and being able to accelerate through the phases. I'm really hoping within a very few weeks to offer the vaccine to everybody who wants it."

Colby also said he agrees with focusing on giving out first doses to all before providing second doses. He said the four month delay between doses recently recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization offers more flexibility and extends the protection against COVID-19.

"This is really coming into alignment with what I've saying all along," said Colby. "There is increasing scientific evidence that more than 90 percent of the protection of a vaccine is afforded by that first dose. The main purpose of a second dose is to provide length of protection rather than strength of protection. We can maximize the number of people covered and minimize the transmission by getting as many first doses into arms as possible."

Colby wants everybody to continue their COVID-19 health and safety protocols to keep protecting the community. But he anticipates they will be changing eventually as more people are vaccinated. He also said there's a lot of unanswered questions such as whether people will need to be re-vaccinated or if new vaccines will need to be developed to better cover new variants.

Colby added a decision on if and when team sports will continue will be a regional decision depending on the number of cases and restrictions going on in Chatham-Kent and its surrounding neighbours.

The doctor added vaccinations for first responders, frontline health care workers, firefighters, paramedics, and some police officers who respond to medical emergencies will be complete by early next week. Dr. Colby also said he has had a discussion with a cabinet minister recently about getting temporary foreign workers vaccinated either before or upon entry to Canada.

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