TORONTO -- Planes filled with precious cargo prepared for takeoff this morning as Operation Remote Immunity, a program aiming at bringing the vaccine to fly-in communities in Ontario, officially took flight.
Operation Remote Immunity will deliver the Moderna vaccine to 31 First Nation communities in Northern Ontario, most of which can only be reached by air.
Neskantaga First Nation Chief Christopher Moonias was the first to roll up his sleeve and get vaccinated in his community. He shared the experience on Facebook Live to demonstrate his confidence in the vaccine.
“Those are the guys that are waiting to be vaccinated,” he said in the video, panning to show people waiting in a spaced out line in the hallway. “We got about 40 people today coming, 30 tomorrow, and more the day after.”
After he received the shot, the room burst into applause.
“Things are good, I hope you take yours,” he said later in the video. “Let’s protect the communities, let’s protect our people.”
The project is headed up by ORNGE Air, Ontario’s air ambulance service, with team members receiving cultural training before take-off.
It’s important especially considering the history of how Indigenous people have been treated in Canada. Wade Durham, chief operating officer of ORNGE, pointed out that in the past, Indigenous communities “may not have had a choice to receive the vaccinations.”
A total of 32,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine are on their way north, with half of those being administered this week. Teams will head to Neskantaga, Slate Falls, Muskrat Dam, Fort Severn and Kashechewan First Nation.
Across the country, overcrowded living conditions have led to the spread of COVID-19 in many First Nations, especially in Alberta, which has had the highest number of on reserve cases.
Today, the province announced it would provide a room for anyone who needs to self-isolate at no cost.
"It's going to alleviate some of the pressures, that our people are able to isolate in a hotel,” Chief Ivan Sawan, of Loon River First Nation, told CTV News.
In Manitoba, officials are making more vaccines available for Indigenous health care due to a worrying trend in the number of cases.
"First Nations people currently make up 73 per cent of all presumed active cases, 50 per cent of hospitalizations, and 52 per cent of ICU admissions,” Dr. Marcia Anderson, from the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Coordination Team, told CTV News.
Back in Northern Ontario, the gaps in health care are starting to be filled with Operation Remote Immunity.
"We were very insistent that when the vaccines became available, that our communities, especially in the remote north, are designated as a priority,” Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said.
