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Given new national guidance that we can space the first and second doses of the vaccine up to four months apart, the Premier announced yesterday that the first dose would be available to everyone by the end of June 2021. Given this morning’s approval of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, this seems even more likely. The devil, of course, will be in the details as this is a massive organizational undertaking. We are doing our best to have up-to-date information available. The most reliable resource for your questions is Nova Scotia Public Health and the Government of Nova Scotia websites.
In addition to the age-based distribution plan, frontline healthcare workers are also eligible. This includes:
- doctors, nurses and continuing care assistants who work in community practice or provide care in the home
- dentists, dental assistants and dental hygienists
- pharmacists, pharmacy assistants and pharmacy technicians
Apart from the age-based vaccination rollout, 13,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be made available to Nova Scotians between the age of 50-64 at 26 locations across the province starting March 15th, 2021. This vaccination effort will be managed by Doctors Nova Scotia and the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Details on this should be forthcoming soon.
This effort is being undertaken because federal regulators have not approved AstraZeneca for use in people over 65. While the efficacy of the vaccine is the same as all of the others in preventing hospitalization and death, it is less effective at preventing the contraction of COVID-19, and therefore is better suited to lower-risk populations.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel! In the meantime, it is more important than ever to keep washing hands, wearing masks, and observing physical distancing. Whether or not you are symptomatic if you’re interacting with more than a very small social circle, Public Health continues to encourage us to get tested regularly.
Mental Health Services
We recently discovered that the three core mental health service providers in Dartmouth are consolidating and moving to Portland Hills. This is terrible news. Not only is downtown convenient to most folks in Dartmouth via foot, transit, or car, it is also a hub of services including income assistance, Metro Regional Housing, various non-profit providers, and many food banks and meal providers. It is why my office is located here.
The new location is near transit, but it is not accessible by foot for most folks and is unreasonably far from Dartmouth North. It is not a hub and is not co-located with any other services that complement the offering. You may have read in the news yesterday that my colleague, Susan Leblanc, MLA for Dartmouth North, has put out a call for a satellite mental health and addictions services location in North Dartmouth.
We’re told that this lease was the only response to the tender put out for new space. My response is that the tendering process needs to change in that case; we are actively working to prevent a move like this in the future. We are also exploring whether it would make sense to advocate for a satellite location in downtown Dartmouth.
In the meantime, I encourage those of you for whom this raises concern to sign my colleague Susan Leblanc’s petition for satellite services in Dartmouth North.
Return to the Legislature
We plan to return to the legislature next Tuesday, March 9th at 1 pm. You can watch it live here. After a year of no legislative sitting, we are eager to get back to some of the work you elected us to do—represent your issues and concerns in the Legislature. We are focused on ensuring that we stay the course on COVID-19, address the continuing issues in long-term care, and see meaningful action on housing, the environment, and a just, equitable, and robust recovery. What are you most concerned about? Please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Thank you once again for your continued hard work to keep COVID-19 at bay and your constant kindness to each other and our larger community. There is a reason we all Dartmouth.
Best,
Claudia
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