Urban Indigenous people in Ontario now eligible for 2nd COVID-19 shot 3-4 weeks after 1st dose

Indigenous people in Ontario living in urban areas will be able to receive their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine within the three- to four-week interval recommended by manufacturers, the province announced Monday.

"If you are First Nations, Inuit or Metis, you should have priority no matter where you live," said Jennifer David, who is a member of Chapleau Cree First Nation in northern Ontario, but lives in Ottawa.

In March, the province had increased the timeline between doses to 16 weeks, in line with recommendations by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. Its March 19 statement said on-reserve First Nations members and remote and isolated First Nations communities would continue to receive a second dose within the range recommended by vaccine manufacturers. 

All Indigenous adults, whether on-reserve, off-reserve, in urban or remote communities, were prioritized in the first phase of Ontario's vaccine roll-out plan, following national guidelines.

David was originally supposed to receive her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine mid-March and her second dose within three to four weeks.

She said she was nervous about side effects and had a heavy workload at that time so she cancelled her initial appointment. 

Between cancelling her first booking and scheduling a new one, the province announced it would be extending the time between doses to 16 weeks.

"I obviously wasn't very happy with that but that's the decision they made," said David.

David said her mother, who lives in Chapleau Cree First Nation, received both of her vaccine doses within the three- to four-week timeline. 

She said she didn't understand why if you lived in the city you didn't have that same access.

Pesch Nepoose, who lives in Toronto but is a member of Samson Cree Nation in Alberta, received her first vaccine dose last Thursday and was told she would be receiving her second shot in June.

She lives with three roommates, two of whom she said have just tested positive for COVID-19. She is now in isolation.

Nepoose said she felt relieved to know she might be able to receive her second shot sooner. 

"Being in the city, it's nerve-racking most of the time going out," she said.

Dr. Janet Smylie, a Métis-Cree family physician at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and Canada research chair in advancing generative health services for Indigenous populations, said the rate of hospitalization of Indigenous people with COVID-19 is higher than for the general population.

She said this is because 30 per cent of Indigenous adults have two or more comorbidities, or multiple chronic illnesses. 

Smylie said the province's announcement of prioritizing urban Indigenous people for second doses is good news, but overdue. 

"I don't think we ever should have had a policy in Ontario where First Nations people on reserve got a second dose on time, and those off reserves didn't, because there's no science basis for that," she said. 

Smylie said she is waiting for details on the distribution plan.

In an emailed response to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Health said eligibility for booking  would begin by the end of the week of May 10 and that booking details would be provided in the coming days.