Condensed from Media Releases
Vaccine Update
February 26 – The Grey Bruce Health Unit has been actively working through the provincial three-phased vaccine distribution implementation plan.
The Grey Bruce Milestone Reached or in progress as of Friday February 26, 2021:
• All Long Term Care Home Residents 1st dose
• All Long Term Care Home Staff and essential caregivers 1st dose
• Some 2nd doses given to Long-Term Care residents and staff
• All High Risk Retirement Homes staff and residents 1st dose
• High and Very High Risk Health Care workers – hospital setting
•EMS
• Many Retirement Home Staff and Residents
There are 3 concurrent models of vaccination taking place in Grey Bruce:
Mobile Clinics
• For clients who are unable to come to a central location i.e. Long Term Care
• Public Health books these clinics directly with the facility – no individual booking system available
Provider Clinics
• Clinics in partnership with Public Health and Physicians/Pharmacists in a community setting
• Booking to be done directly with the provider – they will advertise and reach out to you
An online and telephone booking system to be available in the coming weeks.
HUB
• Large vaccination clinics for a variety of populations or a specific target population
Online and telephone booking system will be available when needed – March 15th anticipated.
Next Steps
We are now at the point of transitioning to the next stage. The initiatives and priorities of the next few weeks will be:
• Fire and Police
Week of March 1, 2021
• Chronic Home Care Recipients and High/Very High Community Health Care Workers
• Indigenous Community – on and off reserve
March 2021
• Adults 80 years of age and older
• 2nd Dose for Long Term Care Residents
Hockey Hubs Can Vaccinate Up To 4,500 People Per Day
A Hockey Hub converts a hockey arena to deliver thousands of COVID-19 vaccines per day. The model is scalable in that it can be expanded or contracted depending on the amount of vaccine available and the number of clients to be vaccinated.
Locally, Hockey Hubs are being finalized at the P&H Centre in Hanover, the Davidson Centre in Kincardine and the Bayshore Community Centre (community halls) in Owen Sound.
Set up in a standard hockey arena, the Hockey Hub can administer 4,500 vaccines in a 10-hour shift of 5 vaccinators. Traditional large volume clinics administer about 1,000 vaccines a day, employing 20 vaccinators. Conventional smaller vaccine clinics administer 400 vaccines a day, in a shift of 8 vaccinators. The efficiency of the Hockey Hub model is based on using clinical staff for clinical duties only and other staff for any task that is non-clinical.
The Hockey Hub uses a streamlined flow-through process. Once registered, the client remains in an individual pod for documentation, administering vaccine and recovery. The person administering the vaccine moves from pod to pod. The typical set-up in a standard rink would have 150 pods with 30 pods assigned to each nurse. In the Hockey Hub, a vaccinator can administer 90 vaccines per hour.
Given a sufficient supply of vaccine the three Hockey Hubs in Grey and Bruce could vaccinate 140,000 people or 75 percent of Grey Bruce’s population in about 21 days. Conventional vaccine clinics would take considerably longer, months rather than days.
The Hockey Hub provides several efficiencies. Clinically trained personnel
are focused on administering the vaccine. Other non-clinical staff take on the clerical and support roles. There is a reduced risk of injury/fainting as clients are immunized and recover in the same location instead of risking fainting while walking to a recovery area (fainting is a well-known risk in immunization clinics). The one-touch surface means decreased surface cleaning to minimize the risk of transmission.
The model is cost-effective. The Hockey Hub costs about $6000 per thousand vaccines; about $1.7 million total for 140,000 population. Large volume clinics cost $26,000 per thousand or $7.2 million for 140,000 population.
The Hockey Hub model will only be implemented when sufficient quantities of vaccine become available.
New Provincial COVID-19 Vaccine Booking System Trial in Grey Bruce
March 2, 2021 – The Grey Bruce Health Unit is one of six health units the Ontario government is using to soft-launch the online booking portal for COVID-19 mass immunization clinics.
The trial is not open to the general public. A small group of individuals age 80+ and health care workers, who already had appointments booked, are being asked to participate. Being part of the trial does not provide expedited process for the individuals participating.
When operational for public use, expected March 15, the booking system will simplify and speed up the booking process enabling more clients to be vaccinated in a shorter time.
“As we receive the large volumes of vaccine anticipated in late March and April, I believe our main challenge will be in keeping up with putting vaccines in arms.” Said Grey Bruce Top Doctor, Dr. Ian Arra, “The Provincial Booking System in combination with the Hockey Hub Mass Immunization Clinics will be the key to success in addressing this challenge.”
COVID-19 Vaccine Update For Those 80 Years and Older
March 3, 2021 – The COVID-19 vaccine is rolling out.
The Grey Bruce Health Unit will obtain contact info and book appointments for those 80 years old and older through three methods:
• We are working with family physicians to obtain their patient lists. Your healthcare provider will call you if you are over 80 and eligible to receive the vaccine. You cannot book an appointment by calling your healthcare provider – they will call you.
• We are working with the organizations providing home care to obtain their client lists. You cannot book an appointment by calling these agencies – Public Health will call you.
• For those not captured by the above two methods, including those 80+ years without a family physician and those with a physician outside Grey Bruce, a 1-800 number for booking and provincial online booking system will be made available March 15, 2021.
Those outside of this age group, including those with health conditions, are directed to use the provincial booking system following March 15, 2021, based on your order in the provincial framework.
To stay up to date, please continue to visits the Public Health Unit’s website at: COVID-19 Vaccines (publichealthgreybruce.on.ca)
