Pilots, other rotational workers being called about vaccine slots, Morrison says

Rotational workers are beginning to receive calls to get COVID-19 vaccinations on P.E.I., Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison said in her regular briefing on Tuesday.

Morrison said international rotational workers — including commercial airline pilots, military personnel and truck drivers — will be vaccinated first in the next round of shots, starting from the oldest and working down to the youngest. 

She said 10,610 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered on P.E.I. as of Saturday, including 4,900 second doses. 

"We are continuing to immunize people as fast as we get the vaccine," she said.

By the end of March, she expects 10-12 per cent of P.E.I.'s adult population will be immunized. Morrison said she personally has not yet been vaccinated, but is looking forward to it when her turn comes. 

Marion Dowling, P.E.I. chief of nursing, said all residents and staff of long-term care homes on the Island have had their second vaccinations, and those who are waiting to move in are receiving their first vaccinations.

She said community-care staff and residents are expected to have their vaccinations complete this week, with the exception of people associated with Le Chez-Nous.

Those residents, who were displaced last month by a fire at the Wellington community care facility, will receive vaccinations next week.

No new cases

There were no new cases of COVID-19 to report at Tuesday's briefing. P.E.I. has had 114 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with only two of those still active.

On Saturday, one of the recent cases was confirmed as a coronavirus variant. The man, who had recently travelled internationally, had the same B117 variant that has been spreading in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Morrison said there is no reason to believe the variant strain, which appears to be more contagious than the original dominant strain, is circulating in P.E.I. However, she said P.E.I. can expect to see more variants in the weeks ahead.

She said all contacts with the variant case have tested negative, including those who flew to Charlottetown on the same Feb. 1 flight as the young man who had the variant type of COVID-19.

"The arrival of the variant strain was not unexpected and is not cause for alarm. The variant reminds us, however, that while we are growing COVID weary, now is not the time to let our guard down."

It was also announced on the weekend that P.E.I. will see a reduction of Moderna vaccine doses this month as some are diverted to communities in Canada's north, which Morrison called "understandable." 

However, Health Canada says more Pfizer doses will be coming to all provinces on a weekly basis, and Morrison noted that P.E.I. will soon receive new syringes that will let vaccinators get six doses out of each Pfizer vial instead of the original five. 

"National vaccine supply has impacted our ability to immunize Islanders," Morrison said. "We have to be flexible, we have to be able to adjust to these little bumps along the road and that has been the way since the vaccine rollout has started."

Reminder about symptoms

The symptoms of COVID-19 can include:

• Fever.
• Cough or worsening of a previous cough.
• Possible loss of taste and/or smell.
• Sore throat.
• New or worsening fatigue.
• Headache.
• Shortness of breath.
• Runny nose.

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