COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Administration Roll Out Plan

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Administration Roll Out Plan

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit’s COVID-19 Distribution Roll Out Plan was developed to help facilitate the efficient and effective delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine and aligns with the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan.

The Who:

The Ministry of Health has set a 3 phase strategy and within each phase has identified priority populations. The Health Unit has taken these phases and groups and developed a six stage roll out plan for our area. Having six stages will help us break our plan into smaller parts. This will aid in planning and ensure our strategies meet the needs of that particular priority population.

Stage 1: Long-Term Care Homes/High risk Retirement Homes Staff, Residents and Designated Essential Care Givers

Stage 2: Highest priority and very high priority Health Care Workers (HCW) and Adults (80+)

Stage 3: High priority Health Care Workers, residents and staff of congregate living facilities (such as group homes, shelters, low risk retirement homes), all Indigenous adults, adult recipients of homecare

Stage 4: Older Adults (Ages 60-79 in reverse order); High Risk populations (individuals with health conditions and certain primary care-givers, high-risk congregate settings). Health conditions in the Highest and High Risk categories in April. The At-Risk category starting mid-May. See page 18 in linked documents for category details.

Stage 5: Essential Workers who cannot work from home (Split into 2 groups, begins in May – see pages 19–22 in linked document for details on the groups)

Stage 6: All others in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark that are 18+ and would like the vaccine

The Tentative When:

Timelines of when vaccine will roll out for each stage is 100% dependent on the availability of vaccine. Our strategies for delivery were built to be able to ramp up quickly if there is a huge shipment made available to us or scale down if vaccine supply is limited.

Our plan timelines align with when the Ministry of Health is expecting vaccine shipments from the manufacturer. If shipments are delayed, timelines will be pushed back. Please continue to watch our website and social media for updates on supply.

• Stage 1:
  • January – February: First dose*
  • February – March: Second dose*
• Stage 2:
  • February – March: First dose*
  • March – April: Second dose*
• Stage 3:
  • March – May: First dose*
  • July – August: Second dose*
• Stage 4:
  • April – May: First dose*
  • August – September: Second dose*
• Stage 5:
  • Group 1:
    • May – June: First dose*
    • August – September: Second dose*
  • Group 2:
    • Mid May – July: First dose*
    • August – September: Second dose*
• Stage 6:
  • June – onward: First dose*
  • September – onward: Second dose*

*Second doses intervals may shorten as vaccine supply increases once most people have received a first dose.

*IMPORTANT: These timelines are for planning purposes only and are tentative. Any delays in receiving vaccine supplies will result in timelines being pushed.

The How:

The number of places to receive vaccine are limited in the beginning of the roll out when the number of vaccine doses in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark is small. As more vaccine comes to Leeds, Grenville and Lanark, the number of places to receive vaccine will increase.

Types of access points:

Hospital Clinics: Immunization clinic hosted by Kingston Health Science Centre. Individuals must present there to receive their vaccine.

Mobile Clinics: Multidisciplinary teams of local health care providers (Public Health Staff, Paramedics, local Physicians, local Nurse Practioners, local Nurses, etc) go into a facility/organization and work with the host to deliver vaccine on site.

Fixed Sites: A semi-permanent immunization clinic set up in 4 locations throughout Leeds, Grenville and Lanark and will be in place for weeks to months. They will be staffed by Multidisciplinary teams of local health care providers (Public Health Staff, Paramedics, local Physicians, local Nurse Practioners, local Nurses, etc).

Outreach Teams: A team of community paramedics that will be able to go to homes or other locations where an individual needs access to the vaccine but due to mobility issues and/or transportation issue they are unable to get to another site.

Pharmacies: Pharmacies will be delivering the vaccine (similar to the Influenza vaccine). *More details will be shared by the Ministry of Health when vaccine is large supply.

Primary Care Offices: Clinics will be able to provide vaccine to their patients (similar to other vaccines). *More details will be shared by the Ministry of Health when vaccine is large supply.

Communications about Local COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Administration

Individuals who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in each stage will be notified by public health. For the first 4 stages (Long-Term Care Homes, High Risk Retirement Homes, Health Care workers, residents and staff of congregate living facilities, and essential workers) this notification will happen through the facility or workplace. For those 80+ in stage 2, and those in stage 5 and 6 (high risk population, and age cohorts), we will be communicating widely on our social media sites, our website, through local radio and newspaper, as well as through our healthcare and community partners. We will continue to update the public about our progress, including which stage we are in and which priority population is receiving vaccine and which priority population is next to receive vaccine.