A pharmacist fills a syringe from a vial of the Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, COVID-19 vaccine at the Vaccine Village in Antwerp, Belgium, Friday, April 30, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Virginia Mayo)
WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is spending nearly $14 million to improve access to COVID-19 vaccination and “to support community-focused and one-on-one outreach.”
The plan is to assist physicians’ offices in Manitoba to develop a roster of their patients who are not fully immunized and support outreach to have those patients come in and have a conversation about their questions and concerns, with the goal of supporting fully informed decisions about immunization, the province said.
Each office will develop its own strategies to connect with patients, building on what would be most effective based on its knowledge of these individuals. Funding will be used to cover administrative costs and physician fees connected to the outreach, co-ordination and visits.
“As we move forward, our immunization strategy is shifting toward work at the community level to increase vaccination rates in the province to help protect our schools, our places of worship, our businesses and our health-care system,” said Premier Kelvin Goertzen.
“This financial support will help health-care workers across Manitoba engage in more targeted local outreach with the confidence and tools they need to make a difference in our immunization rates, one person and one community at a time.”
The province is also supporting the development of a training and support program for physicians and pharmacists focused on best practices to reach out to individuals who have not yet been immunized. This training is being developed by Doctors Manitoba, the Manitoba College of Family Physicians and the University of Manitoba.
