THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay’s city council has reaffirmed its call for "fair and equitable" vaccine distribution, over the objections of several councillors who expressed second thoughts Monday.
Coun. Peng You launched a failed bid to overturn a resolution that had passed unanimously at the previous council meeting on April 19.
The resolution, brought forward by Mayor Bill Mauro, urges the province to allocate vaccine supply based on "potential risk to communities," rather than current COVID-19 indicators.
Several councillors said Monday they now believed the resolution ran counter to advice from public health experts.
The provincial government has moved to divert as much as 25 per cent of vaccine allocations from less hard hit health units like Thunder Bay to hot spots with higher incidence rates.
"The province has recently announced that it will be increasing vaccine amounts to designated hotspots and this will likely decrease the number of vaccines available in Thunder Bay," the resolution reads.
"This is concerning and a response from city council is important and we need to advocate for fair and equitable distribution of vaccines as Thunder Bay is a regional hub for health care services."
Coun. Andrew Foulds said Monday he regretted supporting the resolution, arguing it was an inappropriately political intervention in a public health issue, and unneighbourly to communities elsewhere in the province struggling with massive COVID-19 surges.
“I understand we feel frustrated by southern Ontario, but they’re in crisis right now," he said. "We need to be mindful of our neighbours who need help."
Local medical officer of health Dr. Janet DeMille had stated the province’s strategy to divert supply to hot spots was sound, You pointed out.
“Are we political or are we practical?” he asked. “Let the experts, especially our own health unit [decide].”
DeMille said last week that focusing vaccines on hot spots would ultimately benefit the entire province.
“I think [it's] actually important there's a very strong approach to the hotspots," she said. "Not only do they put those areas at risk, but they put the rest of the province at risk. We need to control the overall picture in the province and vaccination is part of that strategy.”
The supply of vaccines to the Thunder Bay District Health Unit was expected to fall to between 7,000 and 8,000 doses per week in the short term, DeMille indicated, from over 9,000 a week earlier this month. However, she warned that decline couldn't be attributed only to provincial reductions, with shifting vaccine supply also a factor.
Mauro suggested the local supply could erode further, saying there were reports the province could begin diverting up to 50 per cent of supply from less hard hit health units.
Several councillors pointed out Thunder Bay had itself received an increased supply of vaccines in March, when the health unit had the highest COVID-19 incidence rate in the province and the regional hospital began diverting patients to southern Ontario after an influx of infected patients.
Mauro acknowledged that was the case, though he said he'd been unable to get answers on the details of how much extra supply the city received, and when.
The province had also refused to designate Thunder Bay as a hot spot at that time, and left it out when it initially launched vaccine distribution through pharmacies, Mauro noted.
The mayor has argued it's contradictory for the province to reduce the city's vaccine supply based on its improved COVID-19 indicators, while also keeping it under the same tight public health restrictions as areas facing surges.
“If you’re going to include us in a pan-provincial lockdown, if our businesses still have to remain closed, if our outdoor recreation amenities are affected like the rest of the province, how do you then say to us, but you’re not going to get as much vaccine?” he previously said.
Council voted 8-4 to uphold the resolution Monday, after You moved to vote separately on the item during approval of the April 19 meeting minutes.
Councillors Aiello, Bentz, Fraser, Hamilton, McKinnon, Oliver, Ruberto, and Mayor Mauro voted in favour of the resolution. Councillors Ch’ng, Foulds, Johnson, and You voted against.
