Registered Nurse Brittany Favel (left) and her grandfather Jimmy Favel (right) received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from Kylie Merasty Tuesday at an Île-à-la-Crosse long term care home. (Submitted photo/Saskatchewan Health Authority)

By Glenn Hicks and Alison Sandstrom

COVID-19

Nurse and grandfather milestone as Moderna vaccine roll-out starts in Northern Saskatchewan

Jan 5, 2021 | 6:13 PM

An Île-à-la-Crosse nurse and her grandfather have become the first people in Saskatchewan’s North to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The new Moderna vaccine is ideal for distribution across more remote communities because it does not require the same ultra low storage temperatures as the Pfizer/Bio-NTech vaccine.

Vaccination of long term care residents and health providers began Tuesday morning in Saskatchewan’s Far North. The first shots went to Registered Nurse Brittany Favel and her grandfather Jimmy Favel who is a resident in Île-à-la-Crosse Long Term Care. Vaccinations also started in La Loche this morning, as part of the roll-out in the Far North West zone.

“I’m pretty excited to be able to move forward and be able to get back to some sort of normal life and doing normal things instead of just staying home,” the emergency department and acute care nurse told paNOW on her hopes for the months ahead.

And having her grandfather get the shot at the same time was special.

“I’m hoping we can move forward to where my grandma can come and see him again because she hasn’t seen him for a few months,” Favel explained, noting because of COVID restrictions on visiting, the vaccination was the first time she’s been in the same room as her grandfather since he moved into long term care in the spring.

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“I only get to see him through the window at work because the long term unit is attached to our acute care department.”

Proof of a special moment, the likes of which will bring hope to many people across the north and all of Saskatchewan. Registered Nurse Brittany Favel and her grandfather Jimmy Favel display their vaccination stickers. (Submitted/Saskatchewan Health Authority)

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliSandstrom