New Manitoba program to have doctors, pharmacists encourage COVID-19 vaccinations
The Manitoba government is investing $14 million in community-focused and one-on-one outreach programs to improve access to the COVID-19 vaccine and to boost vaccine uptake.
“Every vaccination matters. Everyone is important, and there are many more that have to be done,” said Premier Kelvin Goertzen.
“Today’s announcement is recognizing that we are now in a different stage of the vaccination campaign.”
The Manitoba government announced the funding on Tuesday, saying the money will support initiatives that will allow doctors’ offices to create a roster and provide outreach to patients who are not fully vaccinated.
This outreach will include having patients come in to ask any questions or relay concerns they have about the vaccine, in order to support fully informed decisions.
The province said that each office can develop its own strategies to reach out to people based on its knowledge of the patients and what would be most effective.
Funding can be used to cover administrative costs and physician fees.
“Doctors, physicians, pharmacists, these are the people that have earned the trust of Manitobans in many different ways and for many different reasons,” the premier said.
“Manitobans have trusted them to deliver their babies. They have trusted them when they’ve gone through a difficult diagnosis, like cancer. They’ve trusted with their loved ones. They’ve helped them with their prescriptions in many, many different ways.”
The province is also supporting the creation of a training and support program for doctors and pharmacists that deals with best practices when it comes to reaching out to those who have yet to be vaccinated. Doctors Manitoba, the Manitoba College of Family Physicians and the University of Manitoba are developing the training, which will help support health-care providers in areas where help is needed to improve immunization rates.
Manitoba’s investments will also allow doctors and pharmacists to offer more immunization clinics in places with low uptake rates.
Training opportunities for health-care workers and paraprofessionals will be available to teach them about motivational interviewing techniques – an approach that will help them better understand and address questions and concerns from unvaccinated people.
“We’re excited to bring the focus back to communities and neighbourhoods, as these partnerships really do support a regionalized approach to immunization in Manitoba,” said Health Minister Audrey Gordon.
The province added that health authorities will be holding smaller vaccine clinics every week in the near future to reach as many eligible Manitobans as possible.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.