Hundreds of Manitobans receive wrong address for vaccination centre a second time

WINNIPEG -- Manitobans making COVID-19 vaccine appointments have been sent incorrect information for the second time since the vaccine rollout first started.

According to an internal email chain acquired by CTV News from the Manitoba NDP, the government sent a text reminder to 558 people with the wrong address of the vaccine supersite in Brandon, Man.

The text reminder was supposed to tell people to go to the Keystone Centre supersite in Brandon, which opens Monday, but instead told people to go to the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg.

Wab Kinew, leader of the Manitoba NDP, said the mistake highlights how the vaccine rollout has gone so far.

"First it was a slow start, then it was wasting doses before the holidays and we still lag behind other provinces when it comes to the percentage of vaccines used, and now we've seen in a few separate instances where they actually almost send people potentially to the wrong location."

In the email chain, the error was attributed to PetalMD, a medical tech company that the government is using to help manage vaccine appointments. 

In a statement to CTV News, a provincial spokesperson said:

"The human error was quickly addressed by a follow-up text. Government is conducting a review to ensure the service provider is held accountable and that the mistake does not occur again. People with appointments are asked to keep them as scheduled."

An email from the chain written by Treasury Board Secretary Paul Beauregard states, "We are going to put [PetalMD] on training wheels."

A similar mistake happened earlier this month when a text reminder sent to 871 health-care workers told them to go to the vaccination clinic at the University of Manitoba instead of the supersite at the RBC Convention Centre.

"This is the biggest public health intervention in our province's history that most of us can remember," said Kinew, "We need the government to get this right."

As of the most recent vaccine update on Friday, 13,539 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Manitoba, including 11,401 first doses and 2,138 second doses.