The Ford government doesn’t plan to abandon northern Ontario despite the province facing a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines.
Canada isn’t expected to get any vaccines next week.
Retired General Rick Hillier is in charge of the rollout and says they started their regional campaign a week-and-a-half ago in long-term care facilities in isolated, fly-in communities in Ontario.
“We started with three small long-term care facilities. 47 out of 51 residents vaccinated plus the essential caregivers.”
Hillier notes “We started in Sioux Lookout with two long-term care homes and the medical staff and the medical facility there and we will continue because we’ve vaccinated those that we want to carry out in those isolated communities, the vaccination.”
He adds “They will be ready to go as of February 1 to continue that vaccination program in those 31 isolated communities in an operation that we are calling ‘Operation Remote Immunity.'”
The Chief of Neskantaga First Nation will be among the first to receive the vaccine that day.
In the tweet, Chris Moonias confirms plans to get the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Facebook live alongside Neskantaga Health Director Sharon Sakanee.
At this juncture it’s not clear if any other members of council will also receive the first of two vaccines on February 1.
The province has set a February 15 target to get all long-term care facilities vaccinated in northern Ontario.
To date, more than 40% of all long-term care homes across the province have had an opportunity to receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 83,000 long-term care residents, staff and essential caregivers have been vaccinated.
