Vaccinations begin for hundreds of Indigenous elders

After a winter storm delayed delivery by a day, hundreds of Indigenous eldersin Ottawa will get their first COVID-19 vaccinations on Thursdaya milestone for the community.

The Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health, in partnership with Ottawa Public Health,willadminister the first round of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to about 340 seniors aged 70 years or older.

Vaccinating them first is a priority for the community, said Wabano's executive director Allison Fisher. She saidthe centre made about 26,000wellness checks on isolated seniors since the pandemic began.

"They are the knowledge keepers.They are the holder of our traditions and our culture," said Fisher.

Fisher said the centre wantedto make the experience of getting the shot as pleasant as possible, so the processhas been tailoredto make the seniors feel at ease from beginning to end.

A smudging ceremony and the sounds of traditional musicwill greet the elders as they arrive. The waiting and recovery areas lie within thetowering light-filledatrium, designed by Canadian Indigenous architect Douglas Cardinal, which isdecoratedwith colourful art and mosaics representingstories of Indigenous culture.

"We've worked hard to ensure that they're not thinking about the actual vaccination when they arrive in the centre," said Fisher.

Being around the things that they're familiar with will make the experience of getting the needle less intimidating, according Fisher, who adds she hasn't seen any resistance among the elders to getting the vaccine.

She believes that's because clients trust the Wabano Centre to take care of them.

And she saysthat's important, because many of them have a history of inadequate health care, which has left them vulnerable to COVID-19.

"They come with more chronic diseases because of the lack of access to health care throughout their lifetime," said Fisher. "It's important that they have access to a place like this, but also access to that first vaccine."

The centre is expecting more deliveries in March and April, a prospect that fills Fisher with joybecause it will mean more grandparents can be reunited with families they haven't been able to see in months.

On Wednesday, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller saidvaccination rates in those First Nations, Mtis and Inuit communitiesarenow significantly higher than thosereported elsewhere.

While the initial batch of shots hasbeen largely administered in thosecommunities, theNational Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI)said there should now be a greater push to cover urban Indigenous individuals who may be even more vulnerable.