The Grey Bruce Health Unit says it has a proposal before the Provincial Government, addressed to Retired General Rick Hillier for a delivery pilot program for the Pfizer vaccine in small communities.
The Heath Unit says it would be a collaboration between the Public Health, Grey Bruce municipalities, our three hospital systems and health care partners, and companies like Bruce Power and Chapman’s Ice Cream.
They say Bruce Power would do security risk assessments of all vaccine hubs and also provide resources for two recovery centres (field hospitals) in two arenas currently being converted to mass immunization hubs by adding an ultra-low temperature vaccine freezer and accessories. The Health Unit has not yet specified those locations.
Public Health says the resources for a third hub are on standby.
They say lower tier municipalities have provided arenas, and the two Counties have funded part of the project.
According to the Health Unit, Chapman’s Ice Cream has committed to deliver two ultra-low temperature vaccine freezers this week, and experts to manage the vaccine inventory.
Public Health says its proposal includes two plans.
The first plan, for Pfizer vaccine distribution would be administered at Mass Immunization Hubs and transporting people to those sites using school buses and the SMART transit system.
The second plan, for all other types of COVID-19 vaccines, is based on less rigorous cold storage and vaccine stability demands, which would include people going to hospitals, family health teams, pharmacies and other sites.
The Health Unit says, “Public Trust and an acceptance of vaccination are critical to the success of the pilot – both of which are optimal in Grey-Bruce. Our population has a higher than provincial average vaccine coverage rate for the in-school program (a proxy of vaccine acceptance rate in the area). Data from the vaccine readiness survey conducted by our Epidemiology Team in December 2020 show that nearly 70% of Grey Bruce healthcare workers surveyed will definitely or probably get the COVID-19 vaccine once available.”
“Population-level mass immunization is the bread and butter for public health; on an annual basis public health effortlessly vaccinates millions of school students throughout Ontario.” Said Grey-Bruce’s Top Doctor, Dr. Ian Arra “With sufficient supply of the vaccine by our Government, and through collaboration with local partners in Grey and Bruce, I have the utmost confidence we will put the last nail in the coffin of this pandemic.”
Grey Bruce Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra says, “We will provide our government with a robust and effective tool to save lives and livelihoods. A tool that is validated for small urban and rural communities, which is representative of the majority of communities in Ontario. Moreover, the pilot will also best position us for success to deploy our resources to support hot spots in Ontario”
Bruce Power VP of Corporate Affairs and Operations James Scongack says, “All of these elements under the leadership of Grey-Bruce Public Health are being mobilized with urgency so we will be ready to be the first rural region in Ontario to put into
use the Pfizer Vaccine which is a model and capability that can support neighbouring Health Units in Western Ontario.”