Vaccine 'strike teams' ready to get to work in Ottawa long-term care homes

Ottawa's task force responsible for rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations has"strike teams" ready to move into long-term care homes to inoculate residents, but members of those teams have to cool their heels until the second vaccine candidate Moderna is approved in Canada.

And even once approved, Ottawa is not guaranteed access to the first batch arriving in Ontario.

"Perhaps by the end of the year we may start seeing some Modernaproduct start arriving [in Canada], but we don't know if it's going to come to Ottawa or not,"saidAnthony Di Monte, the city's general manager of emergency and protective servicesand also the lead ofthe vaccine distribution task force.

Di Montesaid he and other representatives of regions around the province are part of a regular call with retired general Rick Hillier, the provincial lead on vaccine rollout.

"A lot of those questions still haven't been determined," Di Monte said.

• Personal support worker is 1st person in Ottawa to get COVID-19 vaccine

Ottawa may be excluded from 1st Modernabatch

The federal government expects to receive the first shipment of the Moderna vaccine before the end of the year, with Health Canada's review in its final stages.

• Canada expected to receive 168,000 doses of Moderna vaccine by month's end, Trudeau says

Ontario anticipates receivingan initial shipmentofbetween 35,000 and 85,000 doses.

Di Montesaid Ottawa may be excluded when the first Modernavaccines arrive, as the province focuses on regions with more severe lockdown measures and facing a surge in hospitalization cases.

Some 1,500 long-term care workers in Ottawa were scheduled to getthe first doseof the already approved vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech. Another 1,500 doses are being stored until those workerscan take the second shot three weeks later.

It's not clear when another vaccine shipment will arrive in Ottawa.

On Tuesday, Hillier said although having the workers vaccinated will reduce the risk to residents, the Modernaoption gets the vaccine directly into the arms of the most vulnerable.

"The Modernais going to be our first go-to vaccine to allow us to go into the long-term care homes," said Hillier."We may receive some more flexibility on the Pfizer vaccine in the weeks to come, but we don't know that for sure."

Hillier said the long-term care homes first on the list would likely bein "hot zones."

Strike teams are mobile

Di Monte acknowledged that could exclude Ottawa, but he said the city's task force will be ready.

The city has developed strike teams involving groups of nurses, doctors and paramedics working asmobile units that can arrive on location and begin delivering vaccines directly to residents oflong-term care and other settings.

Ottawa preparing strike teams to bring vaccines to long-term care homes

4 years ago

Duration 0:49

Anthony Di Monte, Ottawas general manager for emergency and protective services, says the city is still waiting for the approval of the Moderna vaccine, which can be easily transported, but is already preparing strike teams to bring doses to vulnerable people.

Di Monte said he hopes Ottawa does receivesome portion of the initial Moderna shipments in order to develop familiarity and expertise handling the product as members of the city program have achieved with the Pfizer vaccine.

This week, the team running the Pfizer vaccination program at The Ottawa Hospital have been tasked to put together a playbook of best practices so other regions can take advantage of what Ottawa has learned when they begin receiving the doses in their own communities.