It’s only a matter of figuring out some logistics before Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health can begin to vaccinate its homeless population.
After the province announced that people experiencing homelessness are on the province’s Phase 1 vaccination priority list over the weekend, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health said it's looking into a plan of action right away.
“We’re going to work as quickly as we can with our partners to make sure we can do this but it does take a bit of planning to make sure we can do it well,” said Danny Williamson, communications officer WDG Public Health.
“Now it's working with the partners that we always would have, folks, the agencies in town that work with vulnerable populations to make sure to communicate with them effectively, to identify they're there, to make sure we can get them back for the second dose,” said Williamson.
The City of Toronto announced that it will begin vaccinating individuals in its shelter system this week. Toronto Public Health is working with shelters and health care partners to execute its vaccination plan as large quantities of vaccines are expected to arrive in the city.
Williamson said it's important to work with the right partners — who are experts in working with a particular population — to make sure the population is as best served by the vaccination plan.
He said planning to vaccinate different populations involves different logistics and that Public Health is currently working with Guelph Community Health Centre and shelters across the city.
Giving the example of figuring out the logistics of vaccinating residents of long-term care facilities, Williamson said WDG Public Health knew it would be challenging for residents to come to the WDG Public Health office to receive their vaccine.
“So instead, we went to long-term care homes and delivered the vaccines there,” said Williamson.
“It's always going to be how do we keep the basic fundamentals of the vaccination program and apply to the best needs of a given group or given population?” said Williamson. “That's really where that partner piece comes in.”
Williamson said whether it's opening a clinic or vaccinating a certain population, it's important to do it well.
“There are finite resources for all of this and you want to make sure as you do it, you're being efficient and effective and you're making sure you're reaching whichever group you're trying to hit,” said Williamson.
