Northern health worker turns down vaccine tourism caller

“Nursing received a phone call and the caller was told ‘no’ as they specifically asked if they could fly up and get the vaccine,” Derek Keller, executive director of primary health care with the Athabasca Health Authority (AHA) told paNOW in an email.

The AHA is handling the vaccination program in communities like Stony Rapids and Fond du Lac, and access to the jab was expanded to those over 40 years of age after a slow initial uptake since deliveries in early January. Keller said any remaining doses would be shipped out on Friday, so they can be administered in another community before they expire on Feb. 6.

The expansion of eligibility for the jab had the potential to open the door further for those seeing an opportunity to queue jump, even though the communities are fly-in only, and Keller conceded there were no special safeguards in place to prevent an episode like that in Yukon.

“We do not have additional protocols in place other than asking for a valid health card,” he said.

Keller confirmed workers that are in the Athabasca Basin who commute back and forth from the south can get the vaccine and a good portion of their healthcare providers would fall into this category.

Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization said adults living in Indigenous communities should be among the first groups to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, noting “Indigenous communities have been disproportionately impacted by past pandemics (e.g., 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic). Remote or isolated communities, for example, may not have ready access to sufficient health care infrastructure.”

Athabasca MLA, New Democrat Buckley Belanger, called the alleged incident in Yukon “totally unacceptable …but in this day and age if [people] have the money they try and get away with anything.”

He drew attention to the challenges of getting the vaccine to such remote parts of the country coupled with the ongoing issues of over-crowded housing and lack of services compared to the larger centres. He added much of the credit for the vaccine rollout in Saskatchewan’s North needs to go to the local leadership and it was “unfortunate” already challenged local health care workers faced added pressures like being questioned by people from elsewhere if they could fly in just for the jab. But he’s confident any such incident like that in the Yukon, would also not go unnoticed. The matter involving the Baker couple aroused suspicion and was quickly bought to the attention of officials with the White River First Nation.

“I think overall when you engage a lot of local people as this vaccination program rolls out, people on the health care team know who is in the community and who is from the community… they know who is a stranger and locals agree on who should be prioritized. They’re pretty vigilant,” he said.

For its part, the provincial government told paNOW in an email the Saskatchewan Health Authority does not fine or penalize people who seek care in other communities that fall under their jurisdiction.

It added they understand members of the public are anxious to know when they can get vaccinated and said their webpages – https://www.saskhealthauthority.ca/news/releases – offered ongoing updates about increased vaccine availability and how to potentially book a vaccination appointment in their area when this becomes possible.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow

by Glenn Hicks

Northern health worker turns down vaccine tourism caller

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