Nunavut to vaccinate youth 12 and up with Pfizer
Almost one-quarter of all COVID-19 cases in Iqaluit have been under 18 years old
Dr. Michael Patterson, Nunavut’s chief public health officer, says the territory will receive doses of the Pfizer vaccine to vaccinate youth 12 and up. (Photo by Dustin Patar)
Nunavut is arranging to secure doses of the Pfizer vaccine to vaccinate the territory’s youth.
The announcement, made by Nunavut’s chief public health officer, Dr. Michael Patterson, during a news conference on Wednesday morning, comes a week after Health Canada approved the Pfizer vaccine for people 12 years old and up.
Patterson wasn’t able to say how many doses were expected or when they were coming, but he did elaborate on how they would be distributed.
“We will administer it first in communities experiencing an outbreak or at higher risk of introduction,” said Patterson.
“This is similar to how we approached the first round of vaccinations and Iqaluit will likely be the first community.”
Patterson had previously cautioned that using the Pfizer vaccine in Nunavut would pose logistical challenges. But on Wednesday he said that changes to the way the vaccine could be stored and shipped may make it easier to distribute to smaller communities.
It remains unclear whether Nunavut will receive enough doses for youth in all 25 communities, Patterson said, creating the possibility that some may have to wait for the Moderna vaccine to be approved for youth.
News that the territory’s youth will get Pfizer vaccinations comes as eight new cases and 14 recoveries were reported in Iqaluit. That brings the city’s active case count to 69 as of Wednesday. It has seen 122 recoveries.
So far, four Iqaluit residents have been flown to southern medical facilities due to COVID-19 complications. Of those, two remain in the hospital, with one in an intensive care unit. The other two are recovering in Ottawa and should be able to return to the territory soon, Patterson said.
Iqaluit continues to see the virus spread, including cases of transmission through outdoor contact. Patterson gave examples of coworkers taking a smoke break and children playing outside.
Roughly 23 per cent of positive COVID-19 cases in Iqaluit are under the age of 18, Patterson said.
About two-thirds of the cases identified in Iqaluit have been found through contact tracing, and surveillance testing accounts for just over 10 per cent of cases, he said. The remaining cases involve people who went to hospital with symptoms, and others who health teams are unsure of how they were identified.
Households and workplaces continue to be the main sources of new cases, Patterson said. “As long as that spread continues, the outbreak itself is going to continue,” he said.
Premier Joe Savikataaq said that government officials met last week with officials from the city, RCMP and sheriff’s office to finalize how to enforce public health restrictions.
“Our main goal is to educate, [issue] warnings and then ticketing, and hopefully that’ll be the way it goes,” said Savikataaq.
Enforcement responsibilities will be split between the city’s bylaw officers, RCMP and sheriffs, but the public is still asked to only contact the RCMP to report a violation.
Asked whether more severe measures, such as a community-wide curfew, are options, Patterson said that he doesn’t believe he has the power to enact such a measure under the public health orders.
“More importantly, creating more aggressive orders when individuals aren’t listening to them right now, it’s not really the point,” he said.
“The point is to find ways to limit the activity that is triggering what’s happening.”
Since May 5, there have been 39 complaints that were acted on, Savikataaq said. Sixteen of those were for gatherings, four for isolation breaches, two related to masks, five for outdoor gatherings, two were unknown and 10 were not applicable.
Of those, two resulted in verbal warnings and 10 ended with written warnings.
So far there have still been no charges or fines issued to people caught breaking public health orders.
Yesterday’s federal funding announcement of $19 million to the Nunavut government and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. for COVID-19 relief included $500,000 earmarked for enforcement.
Savikataaq said some of the money may go towards covering the costs of isolation spaces in the city.
“We’re still looking at all the options of exactly where this money will be going,” he said.
The spring sitting of Nunavut’s legislature will go ahead as planned at the end of May and most MLAs will be joining virtually, Savikataaq said.
For updated information and resources on COVID-19, visit the Government of Nunavut’s website.
The government’s COVID-19 updates will continue on Friday at 11 a.m. eastern time.
And to all those who say that it’s safe for kids to go back to school because they don’t get sick, or don’t spread Covid-19, well it’s just not true.
.
Certainly younger children don’t catch it as often, may be asymptomatic, or don’t get as sick as adults, but to say that they don’t catch and transmit Covid-19 is just wrong.
.
So hopefully all the teachers have been vaccinated because you know kids, especially in Nunavut, don’t follow all the rules, all the time.
,
As for enforcement in Iqaluit, or other Nunavut communities, it has to be active enforcement, curfews, bylaw, RCMP enforcing it, or it just won’t work. What good is it to fine people who are on SA?
OLD trapper, you should change your name to Cpt obvious or armchair warrior. your hindsight is an amazing 20/20.
Do you stop and think that the science and knowledge around Covid is changing rapidly and health care professionals and governments are changing with it, not just in Nunavut but around the world.
LOL
My message hasn’t changed over the past 14 months, I invite you to search Nunatsiaq News and read my past comments.
.
We are learning more every day about Covid-19, but we knew the most important information early on in 2020 before it “officially” reached Canada.
.
The virus was highly infectious, likely airborne, there were possibly asymptomatic cases, and the mortality rate increases with age, dramatically so after age 70.
.
Did you forget that CPHO Theresa Tam said that Canadians shouldn’t wear masks? She knew about airborne transmission but wanted to protect supplies of PPE for front line medical personnel. How many lives did that cost?
.
Governments closed schools initially and then reopened them citing the minimal risk as younger kids don’t get sick, and therefore don’t pass the coronavirus on to others. Except that they do get infected, are mostly asymptomatic, and can infect teachers, parents, grandparents, etc. Most provinces are on their third round of school closures.
.
While some countries got it right and closed their borders tightly at the start, Canada actively repatriated citizens from around the world with no thought to testing or quarantining them. Even today we have thousands bypassing the mandatory testing and quarantine.
.
Our governments have done very poorly at their number one priority, protecting the lives and health of Canadians.
I was waiting to see if would you go on your New Zealand rant AGAIN!!!!, you have disappointed me……. NOT!!!!
Well the numbers speak for themselves. Countries that closed their borders tight, had stringent lockdowns, strict quarantine measures, and sensible international travel restrictions along with unavoidable inbound quarantine measures have fared a lot better.
.
You do know that our hospitals have been on the point of collapse don’t you? For example the Queensway Carleton Hospital has shut down many departments and all elective surgery to free up staff to attend to Covid-19 patients. Ontario ICUs were at 899 patients a few days ago, before Christmas the province had said that having 300 patients was a critical point, and we were triple that level.
.
There is a great cost to our hospital, health care, and economic systems by letting this continue. You are already seeing higher prices, and you will get both higher inflation and higher taxes over the next 5 years, at a minimum.
.
This does not count the emotional cost. People who have needlessly lost their mothers and fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters. Never mind the businesses ruined, and the turmoil in people’s lives. Kids that have lost their school years.
.
I’m not saying that it could all have been avoided, but most of it did not need to happen.
.
And you know what, most of our politicians and senior public health officers think that they have done a wonderful job.
.
Canada today – 1.316,789 infected, 24,774 dead.
One year ago – 72,987 infected, 5,413 dead.
.
As I said the numbers speak for themselves. And yes I am angry at our politicians who have not put the safety and welfare of Canadians first.
In this I will have to DISAGREE with this in regards to kids not listening in the north. Kids listened right away when there was imminent danger and we have seen that when they first announced the pandemic last year. Inuit followed right away but when they start seeing “essential” workers breaking the rules, that’s when you start to see, “wait a minute” I can do that too?
The very people who warn us to follow protocols are not following the rules, we see it all over the pace with pictures shared. Meetings no 2 meters apart, shake hands, wearing masks but only less than a foot apart. Not one debating whether their fellow Inuit should take the vaccine right away, all are advertising that it is safe and calling others who wish to wait, “careless or fanatics” . We are not all against vaccine you know, this is too new, too soon. More than cancer patients have died for over decades and centuries even and how come our endless donations were never put to find THE cure? And the poor argument we keep hearing is, this is a pandemic and the whole world is working together this is why the researchers were funded? This is why, many are hesitant to take the first shot NOT because we are against it.
Hopefully, the offer will be on for the next 3-5 years than I will reconsider.
And for the Pfizer vaccine, didn’t they say it is not ideal for it to be administered in the North? That is why the adults got the Moderna although they said, Pfizer is somewhat better than Moderna? These new advices will keep us wait.
Another thing too, long term cares in Quebec sent out notice about if elders had Covid it is not necessary for them to get 2nd dose? Really? There are new cases EVERY day, so they must be immune to it now? No?
In south kids are going nuts and a lot of mental care is being offered and we still hear it is not enough. What else can Government should do? When we are asked to stay home only for 2 weeks if we got out of our bubble?
The lengths to which public officials, be it the Premier or Dr. Patterson, will go to avoid fining violators and holding people accountable for their actions is insane. The political theater around not appearing to be ‘colonial’ by enforcing laws is very worrying. Does no one have a spine anymore? or is every issue that MAY impact Inuit going to be handled with ineffective kid gloves? I mean does Dr. Patterson think asking nicely will work? Not working for the same maskless crew of delinquents sharing cigarettes and crowding the front of Northmart for a month now.
There were a pack of aboutt 10 kids playing together on our street yesterday, no masks, no physical distancing. An RCMP truck pulled up and after a brief conversation the officer hands each kid a mask. As soon as the officer was out of sight the kids took off the masks and threw them in the ditch. Those vaccines can’t get here soon enough!
You only went to the internet and not went up to them?
This is the problem, when people see something even when kids are not listening, they go straight to their gadgets. Kids know the adults will not go to them, they test your capabilities and availabilities. RCMP officers who intervened did their part of course. With no support from the community, what more can they do?
Thank you RCMP for doing your part which is noticed at certain times only.
Yes it takes a community to raise a child. Anyone, if you see children doing something they should not do, It is very adult responsibility to talk to those children, explain what they are doing wrong. make that a teachable moment for them. Do not give up on them.