First COVID-19 Vaccine Shipments Arrive In Windsor-Essex
21-12-2020
The first supply of COVID-19 vaccinations for Windsor-Essex has safely arrived.
This first limited supply of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was delivered this morning to the St. Clair College Sportsplex amid significant police and security presence. The vaccine is now stored in freezers at -80 degree Celsius, which is the temperature required for the vaccine storage until prepared clinically for inoculation. As noted previously, the Pfizer vaccine is not allowed to be transported from its initial delivery site and therefore requires that all individuals being inoculated attend to the site of the vaccine.
Staff will are today going over final training and preparations for initial vaccinations taking place Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020.
"This is an exciting time in our community as we receive the initial supply of long-awaited doses to vaccinate against the COVID-19 virus," said WRH President and CEO David Musyj. "We know this is just the start, and that initial vaccinations will be limited. However, like all communities across Canada, we look forward to the opportunities next year to bring vaccinations to individuals across Windsor-Essex."
Supplies are being secured with the support of Windsor Police Services. We thank them for their 24-7, around-the-clock support they are providing at the St. Clair College Sportsplex.
WRH also wishes to thank the college once again for its outstanding support and use of the Sportsplex since the beginning of the pandemic. It is important to note that the use of the St. Clair College Sportsplex as a vaccine centre does NOT preclude future potential use of the same site as a field hospital, should the conditions to warrant reopening the facility for up to 100 beds arise.
"Given the size and technical specifications of the facility, we would be able to run a segregated vaccination area as well as a field hospital for active patients without impacting either operation," Musyj said.
The first group the Ontario government is focusing on is employees who work at Long Term Care/Retirement Homes (LTC/RH) (not in outbreak) in Grey - Lockdown/Red - Control regions in the province, like Windsor and Essex County. The individual LTC/RH employees are being independently scheduled for inoculation.
As more vaccines become available, WRH, in coordination with the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, will continue to follow the Government of Ontario's priority list, which focuses on the following four groups of individuals:
- Residents, staff, essential caregivers, and other employees of congregate living settings (e.g., long-term care homes and retirement homes) that provide care for seniors as they are at higher risk of infection and serious illness from COVID-19;
- Health care workers, including hospital employees, other staff who work or study in hospitals, and other health care personnel;
- Adults in Indigenous communities, including remote communities where risk of transmission is high; and
- Adult recipients of chronic home health care.
Learn more information on the Government of Ontario's vaccination priority groups online.
Both WECHU and WRH continue to finalize Pfizer vaccine logistics of the rollout with the Province of Ontario and will provide more information about additional vaccine supply as those details become available.
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