OTTAWA -- Health care workers in Ottawa will be among the first people in Canada to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when 3,000 doses arrive in the capital next week.
Premier Doug Ford has announced that starting Tuesday, Dec. 15, the COVID-19 vaccine will be administered at the Ottawa Hospital to health care workers who are providing care in long-term care homes and other high-risk settings.
"Ottawa has been selected in part to test and validate provincial distribution networks, as well as in recognition of the challenges the region has faced with certain long-term care home outbreaks," said Ford in a statement.
Three thousand doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in Ottawa on Monday. Ret. Gen. Rick Hillier told reporters that Tuesday will be vaccination day.
The University Health Network in Toronto will also administer the COVID-19 doses to health care workers. Ford said that Ontario now has confirmed all necessary security measures are in place, and Ontario expects a "very small number of doses to arrive in the coming days."
In a statement, the Ottawa Hospital said it's "proud to be named" one of the delivery sites for the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We are working closely with the Ministry of Health and the province of Ontario on a distribution plan for the vaccine. As part of the plan, the hospital will provide vaccinations to health-care workers who work in long-term care homes beginning next week," said the Ottawa Hospital.
"We will continue to work with Ottawa Public Health and our regional health partners to ensure that everyone in the region has the information that they need. We will share more information when it becomes available."
On Wednesday, Health Canada approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for use in Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said 30,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine would arrive in Canada early next week.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches calls Ottawa receiving the first doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine a "significant milestone" in the ongoing COVID-19 response.
"When health care workers who work in long-term care homes and other high-risk settings begin receiving the vaccine Tuesday at the Ottawa Hospital, we know that it will have an impact; one single vaccination could prevent an outbreak and save lives," said Dr. Etches in a statement to CTV News.
"Ensuring those who want to be vaccinated can be without delay is one of OPH’s priorities and focus of our collaboration and planning with hospital, long-term care, City and Indigenous health service providers and others. The overall COVID-19 vaccine campaign for the general population will be a complex undertaking that will last well into 2021."
On Twitter, Mayor Jim Watson said he was "pleased to hear" that Ottawa would be one of the two municipalities in Ontario to receive the Pfizer vaccine.
"There is a light at the end of the tunnel but there is still a very far away to go, we must continue to keep our guard up to keep COVID down."
Speaking on CTV Morning Live Thursday morning, Watson said he expected Ottawa would receive some of the vials when they arrived in Canada.
"We don't know how many, but we have been told that Ottawa will get some," said Watson during an interview on CTV Morning Live Thursday morning.
"I think at this point it's not going to be on a per capita basis because it's such a small number and there's such a large province to get the vials out to. Certainly, I've been pressing the case that Ottawa is a great distribution point; we have the facilities, the great hospital system and great professionals that can help with the distribution as quickly as possible."
Ottawa's head of emergency services Anthony Di Monte is leading Ottawa's COVID-19 vaccine distribution task force. Watson says the task force has been working "basically around the clock" to ensure Ottawa is ready when the COVID-19 vaccine does arrive.
Watson told CTV Morning Live Thursday morning that Ottawa does have ultra-cool freezers to store the Pfizer vaccine, and the province will supply others.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday evening, Di Monte said the city is ready to administer the COVID-19 vaccine when it arrives.
"Yes, the city is ready if we do receive a vaccine next week to be able to start with our partners putting needles in arms, as we've been saying. Our hospital partners and our public health partners have been working with us, so we are ready," said Di Monte Wednesday evening.
"This is driven by the province, they are deciding which zones will get what and how much. What we're doing is we're just being prepared to receive whatever they have and the priority of who should receiving that will be followed."
