March 10, 2021
COVID-19 Vaccine Bulletin #49
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The Morden super site, located at the Access Event Centre, will launch on March 22. Individuals who meet provincial eligibility criteria for immunization can begin making their appointments through the call centre today.
Pop-up vaccination clinics will launch next week in rural and northern Manitoba communities for people who meet current provincial eligibility criteria. Appointments are required and can be made through the provincial call centre beginning tomorrow, March 11. Callers should have their health card available to make their appointment.
The first pop-up clinics will be held in Beausejour, Gimli, Pine Falls, Ashern, Morris, Portage la Prairie, Dauphin and Flin Flon. The initial two-week schedule, which includes additional communities, is also available online at www.manitoba.ca/vaccine and will be regularly updated.
Vaccine Administration
To date, 94,785 doses of vaccine have been administered including 63,993 first doses and 30,792 second doses.
This week, Focused Immunization Teams (FITs) will provide the first dose of vaccine to about 3,000 eligible residents at more than 70 congregate living facilities.
The first shipment of the AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine arrived yesterday. Further details about how this vaccine will be used in Manitoba’s immunization campaign will be provided as soon as possible. To date, approximately 500 medical clinics and pharmacies have applied to be part of the immunization campaign, using fridge-stable vaccines like these.
Appointments and Eligibility Criteria
There are no adjustments to eligibility criteria today. Individuals aged 80 or older or First Nation people aged 60 or older at the time of booking an appointment are eligible.
Appointments can currently be booked for super sites in Winnipeg, Brandon, Thompson, Selkirk and Morden. Appointments for pop-up clinics can be made beginning tomorrow, March 11. To avoid delays on site, people are reminded to have their consent form fully completed prior to arrival.
Recognizing that spouses or household members might become eligible at the same time, individuals can now make an appointment for more than one person at a time, as long as both individuals meet the current eligibility criteria.
Manitobans should visit www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/vaccine/eligibility-criteria.html to determine if they are eligible to make an appointment. If eligible, call (toll-free) 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC). Everyone who calls is screened to ensure they meet current eligibility criteria before booking an appointment.
The average wait time to make an appointment by phone was 45 to 60 minutes yesterday. A call-back option is also available instead of waiting on hold.
Workforce
To date, 1,385 people have been hired to assist with Manitoba’s vaccination efforts including immunizers, clinic managers, clinical leads, system navigators and observers. This is in addition to 971 staff who have been assigned to COVID-19 immunization efforts from regional health authorities, bringing the total of new hires and existing staff to 2,356.
Vaccine Supply and Distribution
To date, a total of 142,840 doses of vaccine have been delivered to Manitoba. This includes:
• 95,940 doses of Pfizer vaccine;
• 28,900 doses of the Moderna vaccine; and
• 18,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine.
This week, Manitoba expects to receive 16,380 doses of Pfizer vaccine.
Additional Information
Manitoba’s daily maximum capacity measures the number of doses the province could give every day, if vaccine supply was not an issue. The provincial target is 20,000 doses per day by April, and it is currently 18,973.
The vaccination calculator lets Manitobans see where they are in the priority line, based on their age, vaccine uptake and other factors. The calculator was recently updated and is available online at www.manitoba.ca/vaccine.
All data in this bulletin is current as of March 9, unless noted otherwise.
More information about the vaccine campaign in Manitoba is available at www.manitoba.ca/vaccine.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION ATTACHED
backgrounder
Background Information - https://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/newslinks/2021/03/BG2-COVID_Vaccine_49-HSC.pdf