It remains unclear to me and to others why Niagara is being treated unequally. In the most recently released provincial modeling, Niagara was higher than Toronto in cases per 100,000. Niagara has 32 long-term care homes. Niagara Health aptly pointed out that Windsor has 19 long-term care homes and has already vaccinated all of them. York region has 28 homes, where the same is true. With the second largest aging population in the province, a 6% positivity rate in COVID testing, and an increasing number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, it is disheartening that we have had to fight for the small number of vaccines to date. The culmination of this inequality is exemplified in one situation that the provincial government has yet to explain: A shipment of the Moderna vaccine that was set for Niagara was diverted to another region.
It is my request, and the request of the Medical Advisory Committee of Niagara Health , that the Ontario Government allocate more Pfizer vaccines to Niagara and restore the shipment of Moderna vaccines that was taken away. Niagara Health continues to provide exemplary care and can administer the vaccines as quickly as they are provided. Across the province, we need more transparency on vaccine rollout, specifically distribution. It’s past time to pull out all the stops. Niagara is ready and needs a provincial partner that is prepared to protect a region that continues to be devastated by COVID-19.