BELLEVILLE As the Ontario government prepares to prioritize the COVID-19 vaccine roll out to hard-hit areas of the province, those in regions that will see less doses available are feeling the pinch. On Thursday, Hastings-Prince Edward Public Health Unit issued a statement calling on the government not to reduce its supply of vaccines. It said that it’s expecting the region s supply in the coming weeks to be cut by 25 per cent, and will result in cancelled appointments. While we are not the only health unit suffering from a lack of vaccines, the change in provincial strategy will further delay vaccine rollout in our region and will increase pressure on our already strained local health care resources, says Dr. Peter Oglaza, medical officer of health at Hastings-Prince Edward Public Health..
Oglaza added, “With the additional resources and help from the county we are going to be able to continue that work. As well, we’ll be able to maintain the level of case contact management as other tasks come our way. We know that already there are plans in place for the vaccination, the mass immunization. All of these plans are on the horizon which will ultimately be the most powerful tool in managing the pandemic. ”
“Keeping control of the spread through intensive case contact management is really the key in the local response.”
A public health manager Eric Serwatkin told council staff members are “literally exhausted” and the support from the county will be “a real uptick”.