People in the Town of Moosonee and 31 remote First Nation communities have received their first doses of the vaccine as part of the Operation Remote Immunity.
Operation Remote Immunity was launched on Feb. 1 to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine to First Nation elders and Indigenous communities in remote areas.
As of Monday, March 7, 15,324 doses were administered, including 12,660 first doses and 2,664 second doses.
The 31 communities and Moosonee were chosen based on their remote location. The fly-in communities don't have many healthcare facilities and resources to manage the virus, reads an Ontario news release.
Administration of second doses is currently underway in six communities with 1,455 people scheduled to receive second doses this week, according to the release.
The vaccination roll-out plan is expected to be completed by end of April.
Operation Remote Immunity was developed with Nishnawbe Aski Nation and is supported by ORNGE.
“This was a true team effort. We sincerely appreciate the tremendous support we are receiving from the government, community leadership and our partners," ORNGE’s president and CEO Homer Tien said in the statement.
"This milestone was only achieved because of the communities themselves. The community coordinators helped overcome vaccine hesitancy, rostered the community members and organized vaccine clinics. We are honoured that we could help them protect their own communities."
Vaccination teams under ORNGE are represented by organizations such as the Porcupine Health Unit, Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA), the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA), Indigenous Services Canada, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, the Canadian Red Cross and more.
