THUNDER BAY - The number of COVID-19 vaccines administered in the coming weeks is still expected to remain high, though still lower than previous weeks as uncertainty continues with vaccine supply.
Dr. Janet DeMille, medical officer of health with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, said she anticipates between 7,000 and 8,000 doses of the vaccine will be administered in the district over the next two weeks.
This is down from the more than 9,000 doses administered last week.
“It’s very difficult to talk about vaccine supply because there are so many things that influence the amounts we might be getting,” she said.
“Right now there seems to be more uncertainty that there has been in the past. We are anticipating some Moderna coming in the next couple of weeks and that amount has dropped but that has to do with the supply coming into Canada.”
There is some uncertainty involving shipments of the AstraZeneca vaccine to pharmacies as well, as the eligibility was recently lowered to people over the age of 40.
The district receives weekly doses of the Pfizer vaccine and Moderna generally on a two-week cycle, but DeMille said shipments will be reduced in the next couple of weeks, which is outside of the control of the health unit and even the provincial government.
“At the same time we are hearing that maybe things will get better by the beginning of May, so that will impact us,” she said. “Right now it feels like a lot of uncertainty around supply but we anticipate delivering a significant number over the next couple of weeks.”
On Monday, Thunder Bay city council passed a resolution calling the reduction in vaccine supply to the district concerning and advocating for more doses based on the potential risk to communities.
Thunder Bay Mayor Bill Mauro introduced the motion and acknowledged the surge in hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions in parts of Southern Ontario, but added it is inconsistent to keep the Thunder Bay District under lockdown while also reducing the vaccine supply.
DeMille said she agrees with the sentiments of city council but she added the district is still getting a fairly significant amount of vaccines and reallocating doses to hotspot areas in Southern Ontario can still benefit the north.
“I think that is actually important that there is a very strong approach to the hotspots. 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,” she said.
“It is really important for us here, especially the greater Toronto area gets COVID-19 under control because that puts us at risk. I don’t want to see us impacted if they don’t get that under control.”
There are still concerns that the district could see another surge in cases, particularly if variants of concern take hold.
On Wednesday, six new cases were reported and the active number of cases has fallen to 54. There are currently only 10 COVID-19 variant cases identified in the district.
DeMille said she remains cautiously optimistic and she commends the people of Thunder Bay for following public health guidelines and bringing the case numbers down. But that can still change very quickly.
“We also know that one person with COVID-19 who unintentionally, unknowingly can spread to a group of people and that can further the spread,” she said. “We’ve had situations where one event, one activity can result in very significant numbers going forward.”
If local cases continue to decline and the situation in other parts of the province starts to get under control, DeMille said she anticipates the return of a regional approach to reopening.
“At some point we will go back to a regional approach and I think that will be very important, especially if we here in the district maintain the level of control we have with COVID-19,” she said. “If we do that, I expect there will be a regional approach allowing us to reopen, especially schools to be reopened.”
“I think the situation provincially is still very concerning and puts us at risk,” DeMille added. “I know strong measures protect us and will support our reopening if we can control COVID. I think those strong measures have helped us get COVID under control and have protected us.”
