Manitoba to spend $14M to help doctors reach out to unvaccinated patients
'Vaccinations have completely changed the game. We finally found a way to win': Doctors Manitoba president
Manitoba is spending $14 million to help doctors and other health-care workers boost the number of first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the province.
The money will help doctors to establish a roster of their patients who are not fully immunized and develop community-focused and one-on-one outreach, Premier Kelvin Goertzen and Health and Seniors Care Minister Audrey Gordon announced on Tuesday.
The intent is to have those patients go into doctors' offices, where they can talk with health-care providers about their vaccine hesitancy and get answers to any questions and concerns they have, Gordon said.
It will also help doctors eliminate misinformation about the vaccines, she said.
Each doctor's office will be able to develop its own strategies to connect with patients, building on what would be the most effective way to support fully informed decisions about immunization.
The response to the vaccine in Manitoba has been remarkable, even heroic, Goertzen said, but there is a way to go yet "to ensure that we blunt the fourth wave and that we continue to get through this pandemic."
WATCH | Premier calls for respect, kindness in face of division over public health orders:
As of Monday, 84.3 per cent of those eligible had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 79.4 per cent had two, the province's online vaccination dashboard said.
Goertzen talked about how the fourth wave is staggering other provinces and how difficult the third wave was in Manitoba.
"And we do not want to be there again," he said. "Every vaccination matters."
Tuesday's announcement signals the transition to a different phase of the immunization strategy, from mass vaccinations to targeted work at the community level, Goertzen said.
While he will continue to promote the importance of vaccines, those who remain unvaccinated are not interested in hearing from politicians, he said.
Doctors, family physicians and pharmacists have people's trust and therefore, the best ability to reach out and speak to vaccine hesitancy, he said.
The funding will be used to cover administrative costs and physician fees connected to the outreach, co-ordination and visits.
It will also go toward the development of a training and support program for physicians and pharmacists on best practices to reach out to individuals who have not yet been immunized, Gordon said.
That training is being developed by Doctors Manitoba, the Manitoba College of Family Physicians and the University of Manitoba, and will help to support health-care providers in communities where additional support is needed to improve immunization rates.
"Today's announcement will help doctors spend more time with their patients who have held off getting vaccinated. We're here to help each and every Manitoban make an informed decision," said Dr. Kristjan Thompson, president of Doctors Manitoba.
As an emergency medicine physician at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, Thompson has seen "the sickest of the sick patients suffering from COVID-19," but fewer came through once vaccinations became widely available and the third wave subsided, he said.
He went weeks without seeing a single patient, until recently.
"Vaccinations have completely changed the game. We finally found a way to win — to beat the virus," he said.
But over the last two weeks, more COVID-positive patients have shown up in the ER and every one was unvaccinated, Thompson said.
"Doctors are here to listen. We ask for the opportunity to discuss your concerns," he said.
"To every Manitoban that's been vaccinated, thank you."
Physicians and pharmacists will offer more immunization clinics in communities with lower vaccine uptake rates — under 75 per cent for first doses — in order to reach as many eligible Manitobans as possible, Gordon said.
As well, up to 100 smaller clinics a week, operated by health authorities, will be held across the province in the weeks ahead, she said.
"We're excited to bring the focus back to our communities and neighbourhoods, as these partnerships really do support a regionalized approach to immunization."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
