TORONTO As Canada roll outs the first COVID-19 vaccines to front-line workers, pride is washing over the Filipino community. But advocates say a true show of appreciation would involve the government doing more to protect them. Three of the first five people in the country to be inoculated were Filipino-Canadian, but thatâs hardly a surprise as, for decades, this community has been an integral part of Canadaâs health care system. When he was receiving his inoculation last week, registered practical nurse Lucky Aguila admitted he wasnât thinking of the significance to the Filipino community. âBut Iâm honoured to be one of the first,â told CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. Back in May, he began working in the Rekai Centre long-term care homes in Toronto â thrown into the middle of an outbreak.
1st COVID-19 vaccine recipients say it s history made for Filipino-Canadians
by Erica Natividad and Theresa Redula
Posted Dec 18, 2020 3:48 pm EDT
Tamara Dus (left), director of University Health Netwok Safety Services, administers the first Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Ontario to personal support worker Anita Quidangen at a hospital in Toronto on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)
Three of the first five people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Canada were Filipino-Canadian, a moment significant to the Filipino community, who for decades has played a major role in the nation’s healthcare system.
About one in every 20 caregiving professionals in Canada are Filipino and with frontline workers the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, it’s no surprise they played a large role in the historic inoculations.