Confusion around Ontario’s available vaccine supply is leading to a lack of public trust in the process and fuelling anger toward it, two Toronto-based physicians say.
There is no publicly available or transparent data which shows what exists in the province’s supply, said Dr. Nathan Stall, a geriatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital.
According to the Star’s vaccine tracker, 3,528,404 total doses have been administered, of 4,506,495 doses received. This means the province has used 78.3 per cent of its supply as of Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Without data from the provincial government it’s difficult to know whether the unadministered doses have been allocated for use in provincial health units, are in transit to a destination or are being kept in reserve in case of supply shortages.
“You can look at the number of doses, but we have no idea how many of them are AstraZeneca reserves, how many of them are Pfizer or Moderna,” Stall said, adding there is lack of transparency over how many doses are allocated to COVID-19 hot spots and which might be designated for per-capita distribution across the province.
On Twitter Thursday, Dr. Isaac Bogoch wrote there are many doses of Pfizer and Moderna that are quickly used, meaning excess doses reflect AstraZeneca which the National Advisory Committee on Immunization has recommended not be used on those under the age of 55.
Stall suggested that the province could provide a daily update on the situation to help better manage expectations about the vaccine program. Confusion around the rollout and when doses might come to hard-hit areas is leading to anger in the public, he said.
More clarity means people will stop guessing about the number of doses, where it’s going, and when it could be their turn, Stall said, adding a centralized pre-registration system could further relieve confusion. Such a platform was recently the subject of an open letter from health experts and Toronto councillor Josh Matlow.
“I think people are not just confused anymore … they’re justifiably angry,” Stall said, continuing that there is a breakdown of trust, especially within the province’s hot spots, about whether appointments will be booked and kept.
A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Health told the Star that each dose in the province has been allocated to people that have booked appointments. “More than 2.5 million appointments have been booked through the provincial booking system alone. This does not include appointments booked through pharmacies, hospital clinics or public health units that are not using the provincial booking system.”
The Ministry of Health has not responded to further questions about whether more details on vaccines will be added to daily updates.
Dr. Naheed Dosani, a palliative care physician and health justice activist, said there’s a need for people to know that there’s a “light at the end of this tunnel.” Clarity about how many vaccines are available in the province is an important factor in accountability, Dosani said — one that tells people their needs are being met.
“If the data we currently have about vaccine supply is not the actual number, then it would be important for our governments to ensure that accurate and transparent data is available,” he said.
“The more transparency we have in the process, the more trust will be built in the process and the more successful this vaccine rollout will be.”
Clarification — April 16, 2021: This article has been updated to clarify that the National Advisory Committee on Immunization has recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine not be used on those under the age of 55.
Article From: The Star
Author: JENNA MOON
