A man walks past the COVID-19 vaccination site at Maimonides long term care facility Wednesday, January 13, 2021 in Montreal. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)
WINNIPEG — The province is setting the groundwork that would eventually see Manitobans visit their local pharmacy or doctor’s office to be administered the COVID-19 vaccine.
Manitoba health officials say the province is partnering with organizations representing Manitoba physicians and pharmacists to prepare for the province’s vaccine rollout of new vaccines once they are approved for use in Canada.
“We are confident in the work of our supersites and focused immunization teams with the current approved vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna,” said Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson.
“But we now anticipate that new vaccines that do not need to be frozen could become available in Manitoba in the days and weeks ahead, once they are approved by Health Canada and distribution begins.”
A registration process is underway to ask physicians and pharmacists if they would be interested in administering the vaccine.
Approval dates and supply volumes for such new vaccines are speculative, but the province will work with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, the Manitoba College of Family Physicians, the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba, Doctors Manitoba and Pharmacists Manitoba to prepare for the eventual delivery of vaccines that don’t require special handling and transport.
“Pharmacies are one of the easiest ways for Manitobans to get their COVID-19 vaccination safely and close to where they live or work,” said Wendy Clark, president, College of Pharmacists of Manitoba.
“Pharmacists are an important part of every Manitobans’ health-care team.”
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government had signed a tentative agreement for Novavax to produce millions of doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in Canada once it’s approved for use here.
