Manitoba warns vaccines may be delayed if shipments not confirmed, but more doses expected

Manitoba could stop administering first doses of COVID-19 vaccines within weeks if supply dries up, but a leader on the province's vaccination team says that's unlikely.

At this time, Manitoba doesn't have a confirmed shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after the week of March 8, reporters were told Wednesday morning at a briefing.

A health official, who couldn't be named, warned that Manitoba may have to delay some second-dose appointments as a result.

Later in the day, Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead on Manitoba's vaccination task force, appeared to pour cold water on that scenario.

"I would expect that sometime in early March, we would have to be focused entirely on second-dose appointments, unless we get that commitment for March 15 onwards, and I suspect that we probably will," she said at the news conference.

Despite the concern voiced at the briefing, the federal procurement minister said in a CBC interview earlier this week that the vaccine supply shortages are "largely behind us" and the country should expect a steep increase beginning on Feb. 15.

Manitoba's vaccination strategy has prioritized holding back first doses when it cannot guarantee a second dose within the manufacturer's recommended timeline. 

The two-dose regimen of the currently approved vaccines involves injections given 21 days apart for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and 28 days apart for the Moderna version. 

The province is currently administering around 1,300 doses a day, out of a possible 7,500 if Manitoba had enough vaccine on hand.

The plan is still to ramp up daily doses to 20,000 per day by April, provided enough vaccine is distributed. 

Officials expect to dole out 15,000 doses a day at the large vaccination sites, including the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg and the Keystone Centre in Brandon, and the remaining 5,000 doses with the help of physicians and pharmacies. 

At the briefing, members of the vaccine task force said they have enough staff to reach immunization targets.

Manitoba is employing 1,457 immunizers, which exceeds the 1,000 staff needed to deliver 15,000 doses.

The province will actively recruit students as well to ensure a sizable workforce over the coming months.

Recruiting more professionals

By spring, more professionals will be eligible to help out with vaccinations: athletic therapists, chiropractors, dental hygienists, massage therapists and optometrists. The province will work with their professional associations to determine logistics. 

Manitoba's existing vaccination team is underworked due to shortages in vaccine supply, health officials said.

The province will commit to a minimum of three shifts for new staff to keep employees engaged.

"We have folks who are waiting in the wings, who are eager to get involved, who are asking for shifts," Reimer said.

WATCH: Dr. Joss Reimer defends using age as metric for vaccine priority:

Older Manitobans a priority for getting vaccine, says task force

4 years ago

Duration 1:55

The medical lead for Manitoba's vaccine task force, Dr. Joss Reimer, says older people are most at risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19 and they will be vaccinated first because there isn't enough vaccine to inoculate everyone at this time.

At the news conference, she defended the province's strategy for vaccinating everybody else — after the high priority groups — from oldest to youngest.

Reimer said Manitobans over 70 are eight times more likely to have a severe outcome from the virus. 

"If we focus our immunization campaign on any particular health condition right now, we might be able to capture those extremely high-risk individuals, but we would also capture and immunize people who are much lower risk," she said.

"Because our vaccine supply is so limited right now, that is not a viable option."

Nearly 1,900 employees are assigned to help the vaccination campaign in some way, which is around 400 fewer people than the province announced last week.

The correction acknowledges some employees were counted twice. A health official also said a small number of people withdrew their names. The reasons they cited included a refusal to take training or provide their social insurance number.

Beginning on Feb. 19, the mobile vaccination teams will set out to deliver vaccines at congregate living settings in Winnipeg and the Prairie Mountain Health region.