Niagara to receive first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in coming days

Niagara expects to receive a shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on either Tuesday or Wednesday, according to a joint release from Niagara Health and Niagara Region Public Health.

Vaccinations will begin soon after the shipment is received. Shots will first go to "priority populations" that have been classified as phase one recipients of the rollout by the provincial government.

They include front-line healthcare workers in long-term care homes, high-risk retirement homes and hospitals. These shots will first be administered at a Niagara HealthSt. Catharines site.

Additionally, the two agencies will deploy small teams to long-term care homes and high-risk retirement homes to assist staff withvaccinating residents.

"We have planned aggressively and are well-prepared to begin administering the COVID-19 vaccine in Niagara," said Lynn Guerriero, President and Interim CEO of Niagara Health, in the release.

Brant County Public Health also announced Tuesday they had received their first vaccine shipment.

Some front-line long-term care workers will be first be vaccinated Wednesday at a clinic runby the Brant County Health Unit and Brant Community Healthcare System.

Beginning Thursday,mobile vaccination clinics will provide shots to residents and caregiverson-site at long-term care homes in Brant.

Almost 80 per cent of Niagara deaths have been most vulnerable

Dr. Mustafa Hirji, Niagara Region'smedical officer of health, called the imminent arrival of vaccines a "relief," which will "begin to end this tragedy."

Niagara has confirmed a total of 5,792 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. Almost 200 people have lost their lives as a result.

The area, of almost 450,000 people, recorded 171 new cases Tuesday and 471 on Monday.

Niagara Public Health said the higher than normal number on Monday was a result of clearing a testing backlog, which had accumulated over the past few weeks.

Hirji and others have recently called for expanded access to vaccines, especially for vulnerable long term care and retirement home residents, plus their caregivers.

Vaccinations are set to become more widely available during phase three of the rollout, as mandated by the provincial framework.

Niagara Health said it will open more vaccine clinics for this rollout in Niagara Falls, Welland, and potentially other areas.