On Wednesday the province released a four-stage immunization plan for COVID-19 vaccinations in Manitoba.
The plan outlines priority groups based on age, with varying timelines for immunization dependant on the supply of vaccines.
Officials say older Manitobans could become eligible for vaccinations by March, starting with those older than 95 and moving down in one year increments.
Dr. Joss Reimer says this prioritization of population groups “reflects what we know about COVID-19, including who is at greatest risk of serious illness and who is most likely to be exposed to the virus.”
In a situation where the supply of vaccines to Manitoba is high, younger Manitobans aged 18 to 29 could start getting vaccinated by the end of August, according to health officials on Wednesday.
At this time, COVID-19 vaccines are only being given to front-line health-care workers providing direct patient care, personal care home residents and staff, and high risk individuals living in First Nations communities.
As of Wednesday morning, a total of 55,650 doses of vaccine has been delivered to Manitoba (40,950 doses of Pfizer vaccine, 14,700 doses of the Moderna vaccine).
A vaccine delivery is not expected this week, due to delays in the federally-sourced vaccine supply from Pfizer-BioNTech. No new information has been provided to Manitoba about the shipments of the Pfizer vaccine during the week of Feb. 8 or in later weeks.
