Long term care homes in Agassiz will have all received COVID-19 vaccines by the end of today (Jan. 15).
A release from Fraser Health shared that all 151 long term care and assisted living facilities in the health authority will have received COVID-19 vaccination clinics by the end of the day.
This includes the Agassiz Seniors Community, Logan Manor and the Glenwood Seniors Community, which are the community’s three long term care homes.
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The Agassiz Seniors Community has been the site of two COVID-19 outbreaks since the start of the pandemic. The care home saw 11 positive cases over the two outbreaks — six residents and five staff — and no deaths.
What vaccine Agassiz seniors have received has not been specified, although the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are being administered throughout the province. The Moderna vaccine, which doesn’t need ultra-cold storage, is being sent to remote areas of the province.
Both vaccines require two injections approximately a month apart, although provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said data from clinical trials showed high effectiveness for both vaccines just two weeks after the first dose.
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Vaccinations have been ramping up across Fraser Health since the start of the year. According to reporting from the Hope Standard, Fraser Hope Lodge residents received their first dose of the vaccine on Jan. 3, while Riverside Lodge received theirs on Jan. 10.
The priority for Fraser Health’s first stage of vaccine roll out is “staff, medical staff, residents and essential visitors in long term care and assisted living facilities, people awaiting long term care placement in acute and community settings, and priority acute care staff, medical staff and paramedics,” according to Dixon Tam, public affairs consultant with the health authority.
By February, the health authority is hoping to vaccinate up to 30,000 individuals each week.
The First Nations Health Authority is also ramping up its vaccination program, with 60 first nations across the province expecting to receive vaccines by the end of next week.
RELATED: Seabird Island to receive COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks
Seabird Island Band is expecting to receive its Moderna vaccine within two to three weeks, and will be setting up a vaccination program for all on-reserve members.
-with files from Emelie Peacock
news@ahobserver.com
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