Vaccination success due to collaboration: From Challenge to Opportunity – Grey Bruce Strong

Dr. Ian Arra

 

Over the past three days, the Grey Bruce Health Unit efforts to redeploy staff and revise case management strategies has effectively increased our capacity to manage the current case and contact volumes.

 

 

This success would not have been possible without:

  • The Case and Contact management team and leadership at the Health Unit
  • Social Media and Communication Team at the Health Unit
  • The media for continuing to support the messages
  • The municipalities and businesses for modeling the way
  • Local political leaders municipal and MPPs , and
  • Most importantly, the public for staying at home and following public health guidance

The redistribution of staff also precipitated the need to activate our vaccination contingency plan. A single large clinic (over 1,000 doses) that was planned (but no appointments booked) for Saturday April 17th was deferred.  These doses of vaccines were redistributed to Congregate Settings (Shelters and community living) in Grey and Bruce. Dedicated mobile teams are providing the vaccine to 42 of these settings by April 20; this is an increase from the originally planned 11 clinics.

This vaccination success would not have been possible without the tremendous collaborations with:

·       EMS;
·       Municipal volunteers;
·       Community volunteers;
·       Health system volunteers;
·       Leadership of Health Unit staff, in particular;
          – vaccine and volunteer leads and managers,
          – Contingency Planning Teams – planning for different vaccine delivery models.
·       The Grey Bruce Vaccine Task Force
·       Primary Care and hospital partners being willing and ready to help
·       The provincial support

It is through working together, collaboratively, and professionally that we can combat this 3rd wave of COVID-19. By working together, we can also ensure all that need the vaccine will get the vaccine as per the vaccine timelines. 

A sincere thank you to everyone that has provided even the smallest amount of support in this challenging time – you have helped.