January 19th, 2021

Armstrong: Long-term care residents in London being denied a vaccine

LONDON – NDP MPP Teresa Armstrong (London—Fanshawe) has learned that long-term care residents in the Middlesex-London Health Unit who have already had COVID-19 will be denied the vaccine when everyone else in their care home is getting their shots. Armstrong, who is the Official Opposition critic for Home Care and Long-Term Care, says every nursing home resident and all staff must be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We simply cannot guarantee that these very vulnerable people have any immunity to the virus,” said Armstrong. “Public health officials have made clear that there is no evidence that previously being infected with the virus provides immunity, and without the vaccine their lives are still at risk.”

Armstrong confirmed with local health officials that when vaccine crews enter long-term care, they’ll skip anyone who has already been sick and recovered. The Ford government has refused to make public how many doses are being sent to each region — and serious questions have been raised about why office workers and staff on parental leave in Toronto have gotten their shots, while long-term care residents in London and other communities are waiting anxiously.

“The Middlesex-London Health Unit is being forced to make these impossible choices because the province’s allocation of doses has been a mess,” Armstrong said. “First you live through your worst nightmare after finding out your loved one has COVID-19 and then you find out that they won’t be receiving the vaccine. It’s horrific to even imagine.”

Background

In addition to a much stronger vaccine rollout plan, Andrea Horwath and the NDP are calling for the following immediate actions in long-term care:

  • Hiring 10,000 long-term care workers, as British Columbia and Quebec did before the second wave struck
  • Putting an infection prevention and control specialist in every nursing home
  • Providing paid sick days to all workers so no one – including long-term care staff – goes to work with a possible case of COVID-19
  • Calling the Canadian Armed Forces and Red Cross into long-term care homes in crisis