The first doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to a group of high-risk health care workers in Prince George today.
The first person to receive the vaccine in the Northern Health region was Biserka Becker, a care aide at Jubilee Lodge in Prince George. Biserka was vaccinated along with a group of health care workers from University Hospital of Northern BC, and the nearby Jubilee Lodge long-term care facility.
Dr. Marietije Slabbert, the physician lead for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at UHNBC, was also among group to receive the vaccine. Dr. Slabbert is considered a high-risk health care worker because of her work with COVID-19 patients in the ICU.
“This has been a really long journey for people working in health care, and the community at large, and it’s wonderful that this vaccine has finally arrived in the North; it’s like the best Christmas present ever,” said Dr. Slabbert. “The teams of physicians, nurses, care aides, cleaners -- everybody has been working so hard, and we’ll continue working hard to get this vaccine to every person in the North who wants to be vaccinated.”
Northern Health is distributing the vaccine in accordance with the priority vaccine groups as recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, beginning with:
- High-risk health care workers
- Long-term care and assisted living residents
As more vaccines are approved by Health Canada, more communities and more groups of people will receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We expect to be able to immunize all Northern BC residents who wish to have the vaccine by the end of 2021.
All COVID-19 vaccines will be free to everyone in British Columbia.
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine research, priority populations, and the provincial rollout plan, visit the Government of British Columbia’s COVID-19 Vaccines website.
"Public health will arrange for the following priority groups to be vaccinated against COVID-19. No action is required on your part.
First priority groups
-Long-term care and assisted living facility residents and staff
-Health care facility staff for COVID-19 patients in settings like Intensive Care Units, COVID-19 wards and emergency departments
-Indigenous people living in rural or remote communities
-High risk people living in group settings like shelters
-People over 80 years old"
If "no action is required on our part" how are we advised? The chain and clarity of information is far from stellar or useful.
According to this First Priority group, my mother who will be 81 in January, is eligible. I too would also fall into the First Priority as she lives with me and I am also high risk due to asthma and other health issues.
I certainly hope that better information will be forthcoming soon. We can't afford to be sitting around wondering if the right hand knows what the left hand is doing in regards to this bureaucracy, because right now it doesn't look like anyone has any idea what's going on...