Manitoba doctors, pharmacists asked to help with COVID-19 immunizations when new vaccines approved

The government of Manitoba is tapping pharmacists and doctors to sign up to administer COVID-19 vaccines once they're approved by Health Canada.

People are already being immunized with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine. But Health Canada has received submissions from companies like Novavax with other vaccines, which could be delivered to Manitoba in the coming weeks, Health Minister Heather Stefanson said in a news release on Tuesday.

Although approval dates and volumes of doses aren't certain, Stefanson says the province is working with its existing network of doctors and pharmacists who normally give flu shots to prepare for the eventual delivery of vaccines.

Members of the network include the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, the Manitoba College of Family Physicians, the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba, Doctors Manitoba and Pharmacists Manitoba.

"To prepare, we are asking physicians and pharmacists who are interested in providing this kind of care for their patients to take part in the registration process so we can identify and create a list of front-line providers who are able and willing to provide COVID-19 vaccines once they are available," Stefanson said in the news release.

The system could make it easier for more Manitobans to be vaccinated.

"Pharmacies are one of the easiest ways for Manitobans to get their COVID-19 vaccination safely and close to where they live or work," Wendy Clark, president of the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba said in the release.

"Pharmacists are an important part of every Manitobans' health-care team."

Stefanson says the demand for vaccines may exceed the supply, so the government will prioritize areas based on:

• High COVID-19 case numbers. 
• The ability for eligible people to access vaccines at supersites.
• The provider's capacity to give the vaccine.
• The number of eligible Manitobans who are served by the clinic or pharmacy.