{"id":205778,"date":"2021-03-19T01:20:18","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T22:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/everyone-hates-a-queue-jumper-but-are-canadas-current-vaccine-queues-fair\/"},"modified":"2021-03-19T01:20:18","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T22:20:18","slug":"everyone-hates-a-queue-jumper-but-are-canadas-current-vaccine-queues-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/everyone-hates-a-queue-jumper-but-are-canadas-current-vaccine-queues-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"#Everyone hates a queue jumper. But are Canada’s current vaccine queues fair?"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Everyone hates a queue jumper. But are Canada’s current vaccine queues fair?<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n Queue-jumping is perhaps Canada\u2019s ultimate social<\/a> transgression, especially when it comes to our health care system. And butting into line is particularly egregious right now, when people are desperately waiting to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Perhaps the most famous example occurred in late January, when a Vancouver couple allegedly flew<\/span>\u00a0to Beaver Creek, Yukon, and claimed to be hotel workers in order to qualify for the Moderna vaccines being administered to a largely Indigenous community at a mobile clinic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States has seen a steady stream of revelations that affluent, mostly white, areas have circumvented the rules to get vaccines ahead of their poorer, higher risk neighbours. On New Year\u2019s Day, when vaccines were still in scarce supply, a <\/span>Florida hospital system informed<\/span><\/a> its biggest donors that they were eligible to get shots, <\/span>Politico<\/span><\/i> reported, while in Los Angeles, <\/span>residents in affluent locales, including Beverly Hills, <\/span><\/a>shared and used app<\/a>ointment booking access codes meant for residents in hard-hit Black and Latino communities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Canada, attention has been focused on who gets those first precious doses. There have been <\/span>headlines about hospital executives and even employees on leave<\/span><\/a> getting vaccinated before frontline workers, as well as <\/span>staff not involved in patient care getting leftover doses<\/span><\/a> at the end of the day.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0AstraZeneca vaccines: Why are some countries suspending its use?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Falsely accusing someone of queue jumping will similarly land you in trouble. On March 11, Ontario Premier Doug Ford levelled such an incorrect claim against NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa during question period, saying, \u201cThe member flew in [to] get his vaccine, so thank you for doing that and kind of jumping the line.\u201d The premier was wrong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At that time, vaccines were available for all \u201cIndigenous adults in northern remote and higher risk communities (on-reserve and urban),\u201d including <\/span>Mamakwa, who, in addition to being eligible, had been invited<\/span><\/a> by First Nations and public health officials in his <\/span>northwest Ontario riding of Kiiwetinoong <\/span><\/a>to very publicly get his doses in an effort to combat vaccine hesitancy. Steve Paikin, a journalist at TVO, who has covered Ontario politics for four decades, <\/span>wrote that Ford\u2019s attack<\/span><\/a> was \u201cthe worst thing I\u2019ve ever heard an Ontario premier say.\u201d Amid an avalanche of criticism, Ford called Mamakwa to apologize.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dark looks are directed at anyone\u00a0<\/strong>gaming the system, especially <\/span>those who are advantaged and connected and\u00a0are perceived to be using their skills and influence to push ahead of those at higher risk.<\/span>\u00a0\u201c99.99 per cent of us respect the rules. We want transparency,\u201d says\u00a0Dr. Zain Chagla,\u00a0an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph\u2019s Healthcare in Hamilton, and an associate professor at McMaster University. \u201d\u00a0\u2018When am I going to get vaccinated? Tell me when it\u2019s going to be, not just that it\u2019s going to happen eventually.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0How many people a day could Canada vaccinate when going full-tilt?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The appearance of fairness can be the dividing line between success and failure in a crisis. To ensure no province felt it was getting short changed, doses have been distributed on a per capita basis, with those allotments\u2014broken down by type of vaccine and by week of distribution\u2014available for all to see on a <\/span>federal government webpage<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, there was also a specific carve-out from that per-capita framework that was approved by all leaders: everyone agreed that the North, which uses the Moderna vaccine, should immunize its isolated, high-risk population at rates much faster than areas in southern Canada. In early February, when the number of Moderna doses arriving in Canada was cut, the federal government redirected doses from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to the territories; public muttering regarding the unfairness of the action was rebutted by local officials. \u201cWhile we know this is concerning to hear, we also understand the federal government\u2019s rationale,\u201d <\/span>explained Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia\u2019s chief medical officer of health.<\/span><\/a> \u201cIt is to address the complexities and unique challenges in our northern neighbours. To do that, they need the support and cooperation of all provinces.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Chagla wonders if, as Canada gets greater vaccine allocations amid still-high numbers of new cases, the nation should discuss altering its overall per capita<\/span> vaccine queue, which, with the exception of front-line health care workers, is run by the provinces and territories largely on an \u201cage-first\u201d basis.\u00a0<\/span>In particular, Chagla queries whether \u201c<\/span>it makes sense prioritizing areas where the burdens are still high,\u201d such as hotspots and among racialized and marginalized populations, saying, \u201cThe average 80-year-old in Scarborough faces a different risk of COVID than the average 80-year-old in St. John\u2019s.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0The J&J vaccine is approved in Canada. What do we know about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Chagla is not alone. In late February, <\/span>Ontario\u2019s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table recommended <\/span><\/a>that the province\u2019s imminent mass vaccination distribution strategy prioritize both age and disadvantaged and racialized urban neighbourhoods because of the \u201cinequitable impact\u201d of COVID-19 on such areas. It crunched the math and projected a double-pronged approach would prevent \u201can additional 3,767 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and 702 hospital admissions, 145 ICU admissions, and 168 deaths from COVID-19 as compared to a strategy that prioritizes based on age alone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ottawa adopted that strategy by starting its vaccination of the general<\/a> 80-plus population with those <\/span>living in seven high-risk neighbourhoods<\/span><\/a>. The city\u2019s online booking portal filtered out prospective residents by only allowing those in specific postal codes to make appointments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Public health officials <\/span>are also questioning the evenness of the distribution<\/span> within provinces. That is an issue in the Greater Toronto Area, home to six million people, where there is significant disparity in vaccine availability between the area\u2019s five public health units. Toronto, which, compared to its neighbours, has more high-risk people in the 80-plus category and more health care workers and front-line workers who are eligible for vaccines in the first stage of the program, is chafing at its allotment of doses. With a rising number of new COVID-19 cases, Toronto still has many 80-plus residents waiting for vaccines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast, on March 16, <\/span>York Region, which has lower case counts, is so far ahead on its vaccine rollout that it expanded its vaccine eligibility<\/span><\/a> list to include <\/span>\u201call front-line health-care workers who interact with patients or clients in community care with low risk of exposure, non-acute rehabilitation and public health,\u201d including those involved in holistic care and nutritionists. On March 17, <\/span>it lowered its age requirement to 75 and older<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the same day, Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto\u2019s medical officer of health, <\/span>was asked whether it makes sense<\/span><\/a> for doses to be sent to public health units that need them the most, including Toronto, versus those in better situations, such as York. \u201cOne of the most effective methods by which to distribute vaccine, particularly if there are supply issues, [is] to direct those vaccines toward those who suffer the most serious outcomes,\u201d she answered. \u201cI also think there is pretty good evidence out there that suggests one of the best ways to manage the circumstances is to provide COVID-19 vaccine preferentially to those areas that have activity [new cases and outbreaks], so as to control the risk and to mitigate the risk in those surrounding areas that don\u2019t have as much COVID-19 activity.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0COVID-19 in Canada: How our battle to stop the pandemic is going<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

On March 18, federal officials announced that more than two million cases of Moderna vaccine would be arriving in April, in addition to one million-plus Pfizer doses per week<\/span>; there are also reports that 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses will be<\/span> coming soon from the United States\u2019 stockpile. As public health officials gear up their large-scale immunization campaigns, experts warn that more stories of queue jumping are inevitable. <\/span>\u201cEvery mass vaccination campaign is going to have people that jump the line in one way or another,\u201d says Chagla. At the same time, he says there needs to be flexibility to keep the process moving as well as a recognition that while people try to adhere to the rules, \u201cthere aren\u2019t enough resources to audit every single person coming into the vaccine [clinic].\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, these cases are going to be a small percentage of the overall cases, but they often dominate the news<\/a> cycle because everyone feels that Canadians who are jumping the line are two values that don\u2019t go with each other.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As Canada rolls out the country\u2019s most complex vaccination project to date, <\/span><\/i>Maclean\u2019s <\/span>presents <\/span><\/i>Vaxx Populi<\/span>, an ongoing series<\/a> in which Patricia Treble tackles the most pressing questions related to the new COVID-19 vaccines. Send us a question you\u2019d like answered at vaccines@macleans.ca. If you have specific questions about your own health, we recommend consulting a family doctor or the local public health authority in your area.<\/span><\/i>
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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#Everyone hates a queue jumper. But are Canada’s current vaccine queues fair?” Queue-jumping is perhaps Canada\u2019s ultimate social transgression, especially when it comes to our health care system. And butting into line is particularly egregious right now, when people are desperately waiting to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Perhaps the most famous example occurred in late…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":205779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/PeopleLinedUpForVaccinesToronto-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[82947,67806,84966],"class_list":["post-205778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-covid-vaccines","tag-editors-picks","tag-vaxx-populi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}