The health team on James Smith Cree Nation administered vaccines on resident's doorsteps. (Submitted photo/James Smith Health Centre)

By Teena Monteleone

Vaccinations at your doorstep

James Smith Health Clinic goes door-to-door with vaccines

May 20, 2021 | 4:52 PM

The James Smith Cree Nation was having difficulties getting its membership vaccinated. So, the pandemic committee, made up of health officials, Chiefs, and council, decided to try a different approach.

“We went door-to-door knocking on the doors of people who we knew hadn’t come to the clinic for their vaccines yet and we were able to convince many residents to do so,” said Rey Lindain, nurse manager at James Smith Health Clinic.

One of the James Smith Cree Nation Chiefs, Calvin Sanderson, volunteered to join the health teams on the doorsteps and answer any questions residents had.

“It was very positive. Some of the membership were hesitant, but once we walked them through the process and which vaccine we were using there were real good results and we have to commend the health staff for doing that,” Sanderson said.

Over the course of two hours, the health team was able to administer about 35 doses of the Moderna vaccine to James Smith Cree Nation residents.

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Of the 3,300 members, Sanderson said approximately 41 per cent have been vaccinated so far.

“We need about 45 per cent more of our First Nation at the community level to get vaccinated. So, we encourage them to go ahead and hopefully now the family members who got vaccinated will help spread the word that they got their first shot of Moderna,” he said.

According to Lindain, this is the first time a health team has gone door-to-door to offer COVID-19 vaccines and it’s something they plan to continue.

“We have to consider not everybody has transportation and there are some people who procrastinate and we need to vaccinate as many as we can in a short period of time so we can move on with the younger population. That’s our target,” he said.

Their goal is to vaccinate at least 85 to 90 per cent of the population by the end of May or first week in June.

Long Weekend Safety

The medical health officers for Indigenous Services Canada Saskatchewan Region and Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority issued a joint release about safety in First Nations communities across the province this May long weekend.

Dr. Ibrahim Khan and Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka reminded residents visiting and mixing households is still not permitted indoors. They also asked residents not to travel for visiting or vacation.

“With warmer weather upon us, we have the opportunity to spend time outside where it is easier to distance. But the risk of Variants of Concern (VOC) is still high and we are not out of the woods yet,” the release said.

“If we take chances now, people in our communities will be isolating when they should be enjoying summer.”

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Teena.Monteleone@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MonteleoneTeena