Hamilton long-term care workers will be first to get COVID vaccine

Just in time for Christmas, Hamilton long-term care workers are getting news a long-awaited gift will soon be theirs: the COVID vaccine.

The provincial government announced Friday it will be delivering the Pfizer vaccine to 17 hospitals across the province over the next two weeks, including Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS).

Hamilton public health says long-term care employees are getting it first.

In a release, public health said HHS, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, primary-care physicians and paramedics are gearing up to rollout a COVID vaccination clinic for long-term care employees. It is not open to the public. Vaccinations are by appointment only and those eligible will be contacted.

More details will be shared when available, public health said. It did not say when the clinic might open.

It perhaps marks the beginning of the end of this difficult period for our hospital and the communities we serve," said Bruce Squires, president of McMaster Children's Hospital, in a statement. It's a ray of light at the end of a very long tunnel."

Public health said the health-care groups are working to ensure vaccines are distributed effectively and equitably once they arrive locally."

Teams are focused on implementing the provincial framework to ensure prioritization of key populations is met and that the logistics around local storage and distribution of vaccine supply are ready to be operationalized," the release stated.

Vaccines are expected to become available for more people come winter and spring of 2021. By the end of 2021, everyone who wants a vaccine should be able to get it, public health said.

The province's release said the en-route vaccines will be offered to health-care workers and essential caregivers working in hospitals, long-term care homes, retirement homes and other seniors' homes.

The first vaccinations in Ontario - and Canada - were administered on Monday at Toronto's University Health Network. Anita Quidangen, a Toronto personal support worker, was the first person in Ontario and Canada" to receive the vaccine, Premier Doug Ford proclaimed moments after she got the shot.

Other nearby hospitals receiving the vaccine include Windsor Regional Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre and Halton Healthcare.

Ontario is expecting to receive up to 90,000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses by the end of the year.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com