Those Who Received a First Dose at Least 21 or 28 Days Ago Will Be Eligible to Make Appointments May 24.
Indigenous people in Manitoba will be eligible to book their second-dose appointments starting May 24, Dr. Marcia Anderson, public health lead, First Nations Pandemic Response Coordination Team, and Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead, Vaccine Immunization Task Force, announced today.
“Throughout the second and third waves of this pandemic, we have seen First Nations people make up 40 to 60 per cent of all COVID-19 admissions to intensive care units. Of these First Nations people, currently two-thirds of them live outside of First Nations communities and mostly in urban environments. That is why it is so important to get our communities – both on and off reserve – fully vaccinated as soon as possible,” said Anderson. “Getting fully vaccinated will not only provide a greater level of protection to the individual, but to their family members and loved ones too.”
Beginning Monday at 11:45 a.m., Indigenous people in Manitoba who have received their first dose of the vaccine can call toll-free 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC) to book appointments at super sites, pop-up clinics or urban Indigenous clinics. Daily hours of operation are from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. People can also book online at https://protectmb.ca.
People can receive their second dose at a different clinic than where they received their first dose, as long as the clinic is offering the same type of vaccine. To book a second-dose appointment, individuals must have:
• received a Pfizer vaccine 21 days before their second-dose appointment date; or
• received a Moderna vaccine 28 days before their second-dose appointment date.
In addition, people booking a COVID-19 vaccine appointment by phone can access service in more than 100 languages and request professional interpreter services to be arranged for their appointment at a super site. This includes several Indigenous languages.
“This approach to second-dose eligibility will benefit all Manitobans,” said Reimer. “Our data has shown that First Nations people are more vulnerable to the virus for a number of systemic reasons and we’re seeing First Nations people are being admitted to hospital more frequently. The more people we can fully vaccinate, the safer our communities will be and we expect the strain will ease on our health-care system.”
For more information on Manitoba’s largest-ever vaccination program, visit https://protectmb.ca/.