Coronavirus: Doctors and caregivers promote home COVID-19 vaccination for the elderly at home

86-year-old John Bedborough, who has been diagnosed with Toronto-Parkinson’s disease and is prone to falls, appears to be at the forefront of high-risk Canadians who prioritize the COVID-19 vaccine.

But when Ontario begins expanding its community in mid-March, it’s not possible to visit mass vaccination sites, clinics, pharmacies, or other places where doses are expected to be administered. These are vulnerabilities, says his daughter, Diane Tambourine.

Peterborough, Ontario. Women are one of a choir of seniors and caregivers promoting home vaccinations to keep thousands of vulnerable Canadians from being left behind.

Some geriatricians have also rejected proposals that their own storage and handling requirements prevent home deployment of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. Both are said to be delicate and difficult to transport.

Tambourine said he hadn’t heard anything about how elderly people trapped in thousands of homes like his father would be protected, and visiting caregivers and relatives could lead to infection. He states that he is exposed and very susceptible to complications.

“If we don’t go to very frail and elderly people, how do we expect them to go to these vaccination centers?” Tambourine says.

“We send vaccinations to nursing homes and retirement homes. How do we make 85 (different) single-living people trapped in their homes? Why don’t we bring them to them? Is it? “

When retired General Rick Hiller outlined the deployment earlier this week, he didn’t have specific details about where and how Ontario manages shots, but he has a variety of plans to evolve. The location was included and claimed that older people would most likely be vaccinated in their neighborhood.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé seemed to have completely dismissed the prospect of domestic vaccination when he detailed the state’s plans earlier this week, citing accurate refrigeration and handling requirements.

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t get vaccinated at home, Ottawa’s doctor, Dr. Alikan Abdullah, argues. He says the thawed vaccine can survive for 6 hours. ..

Abdullah says he has already contacted colleagues who are confident that door-to-door vaccination is possible.

“I don’t know when, but frankly, it will happen,” says Abdullah, who identified about 36 of his patients who he plans to visit personally.

“I have a list of doctors in Ontario. More than 4,000 doctors are willing to do this job and want to drive to people’s homes. They take care of people wherever they are. Will do it. “

Nathan Stall, a Toronto geriatric health worker at Sinai Health System, has acknowledged state complaints that federal delivery schedules and restricted vaccine handling protocols are hampering deployment plans.

For example, Pfizer would need to package 195 vials (or 975 doses) in a large tray, remove them from the -70 ° C freezer, and then transport them all together.

However, Mr. Stall said Israel was able to vaccinate the elderly at home by splitting some cargo into smaller packages of 50 vials. I don’t know why Canada can’t try the same.

“What they did almost immediately was to pack the vaccine in a pizza-sized box, take a small amount, and vaccinate the frail elderly people who live in the house,” said Ontario science. Stall, sitting at the advisory table, says.

“There is no excuse for federal supply or our treatment.”

Montreal geriatric scholar Quoc Dinh Nguyen accepts this idea, but raises some logistical hurdles, including potential wasteful doses if delivery routes, schedules, or patient availability are compromised. I will.

“6 hours isn’t that much. You need to understand that it’s a big pack of vaccines … you can’t take 10 (dose) and keep the 900 remaining for a month,” Nguyen said. say.

In the short term, focusing on immunizing as many people as possible as soon as possible while working on a plan to reach at least 90% of people over the age of 85, a priority group invited by Quebec this week. He says it makes sense. ..

“If this is the beginning of the vaccination period, I think it’s okay to use a large amount of vaccination by taking effective low-hanging fruits,” he says.

Dr. Samil Singha, director of geriatrics at the Sinai Health System and University Health Network in Toronto, envisions the administration of family doctors, home nurses, and paramedics to multiple patients. House.

“The problem with all these is that these are the people we know,” Shinha adds.

“I think there are probably the same number of people we don’t know because there aren’t really primary care providers, the family is actually providing all the care themselves, or they are. Buy care. “

The Ontario Immunization Playbook, which outlines public health guidance, vaguely describes onsite and mobile clinics to reach a “population too weak to attend mass immunization clinics” such as caregivers. Includes references to those who have returned to the community but have not mentioned them.

Still, older people receiving state home care services are very likely to line up for home shots, suggests Victorian nurses Sharon Goodwin.

Goodwin, senior vice president of home and community care for nonprofits, said some public health departments are “engaged in home care in the process,” and home health care workers are also prioritized to prevent groups. He states that he will be vaccinated.

Abdullah is working in pockets around Ontario, including a drive-through model in Collingwood, Ontario, and a pilot program in Toronto to vaccinate about 500 seniors and healthcare workers at three multidisciplinary healthcare facilities. It points out various creative experiments inside.

Nina Rocket, a 94-year-old Toronto resident, wanted only a vaccine for her birthday this week.

“I miss being close to people, hugging them, and spending time with them,” she says.

Her daughter, Margot Rocket, faces barriers for older people to leave the house, but for example, hearing loss, vision loss, incontinence, dementia, or difficulty standing for long periods of time. Nevertheless, I especially want clear information about whether I am willing to take on the challenge. Containment.

She herself is uncertain whether she will run the risk of taking her mother to the clinic due to mobility problems.

“Just get out there, understand this, find all these people and connect with them.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on February 26, 2021.