Nunavut Territory Demands Sufficient Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine for All Teens in the Territory

There are about 4,300 teenagers in the territory, each requiring two doses. In other words, about 8,600 doses are required in Nunavut Territory.

64% of the population of Nunavut Territory is over 18 years old. When teens are added to the vaccinated population, about 75% of the territory can be vaccinated with jabs.

Due to the younger population of Nunavut than in other countries, the population eligible for vaccination is small, making it difficult to reach mass protection.

Immunizing teens can help with vaccination statistics in the area, but Patterson warned that there is no specific number to wait for people to feel safe.

“Herd immunity is not a switch that reaches a magic number and turns on the light … and protects everyone. As more people get vaccinated, the spread of the infection becomes less and less. I know, “he said.

However, vaccination rates have already changed how the virus spreads compared to the fall outbreaks in the region, he added.

For example, in Arviat, 20 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 in one day. This is about 1 percent of the community’s population. Equivalently, 1 percent of Iqaluit’s population is 80, and the city sees no new cases anywhere in the territory.

According to Patterson, the scientific community is still trying to quantify the effectiveness of vaccines to control infections. As the study progressed, Patterson said it would inform the decision of the Nunavut Territory.

When it comes to how teens get vaccinated, Patterson says it’s up to healthcare professionals to decide whether teens can give informed consent to vaccines without the presence of their parents. It depends.

The decision is based on the situation of teenagers and whether they can prove that they understand the pros and cons.

According to Patterson, both Pfizer and Modana are studying whether the vaccine works for children, eventually resulting in a vaccine available to people under the age of 11.

Recovery outweighs new cases

This weekend’s recovery in the capital outweighed the new cases, but Patterson said restrictions would continue to flatten the curve and end the outbreak in the city.

In the past, Patterson said cases tended to decline towards the end of the week, causing swelling and viral infections in the middle of the week after weekend activity.

On Monday, the Nunavut Territory reported three recovery cases, all in Iqaluit, with no new COVID-19 cases. As of Monday, there are 65 active cases in the region, 64 of which are in Iqaluit and one in Kingite.

The Kinngait case, announced on Saturday, was the result of a domestic infection from a former case in the community.

After someone recovers from COVID-19, Patterson says there is a 14-day incubation period in which people they live with or are in close contact with can develop COVID-19. It was. Therefore, as the quarantine period ended, Mr. Patterson said the individual was being wiped with a cotton swab. This is how this incident was discovered.

All Kinngait cases were in the same household. As a result, Patterson said the community limits remain the same, as the risk of spreading the virus throughout the community is low.

Do you miss the press conference? Look at it here:

Number of cases on Monday:

• There were four hospitalizations related to the outbreak, three of which were still in the hospital and one of which was discharged.
• Three active cases remain in correctional facilities within the territory.
• Currently, there are 9-10 cases that cannot be linked to other cases in the city. Unlinked cases are considered community infection incidents.
• About 100 people are tested per day at Iqaluit.

No plans to return Nunavummiut mine staff to work

The Nunavut Territory government is still in contact with the mines, but there are no plans to return the Nunavut Territory mining staff to work soon.

In addition to Nunavummiut, efforts are being made to vaccinate site staff and develop protocols to minimize the likelihood of outbreaks and further disseminate them to the community.

All positive results are still being sent south for gene sequencing to determine variants of COVID-19. So far, all results are for the B117 mutant.

According to Patterson, the Nunavut Territory is working on a reopening plan similar to what other jurisdictions are doing as vaccination rates rise, but much of the current effort is focused on managing the outbreak of Iqaluit. There is.

For now, he says, outdoor gatherings between households in groups of five or less or close friends are low risk if everyone is wearing masks.

When the outbreak began, a higher than average percentage of people were symptomatological, which means that public health was behind the outbreak, Patterson said. He said there was a change in the last week or two that more people were asymptomatic.

“This is a good sign, which means we are more likely to identify them before many infections occur,” says Patterson.

At the COVID-19 press conference on Friday Authorities scolded Iqaluit residents According to Patterson, dangerous gatherings such as parties and playing outside without masks continued to spread COVID-19 last week and did not comply with public health regulations.

“If people want to go to your house for a party, tell them to leave and come back a few weeks later and avoid going to the party yourself,” Kusugaku said. “This is very simple. You have to stop.”