All Indigenous people eligible for 3rd COVID-19 vaccine dose in Manitoba – APTN
Nov 03, 2021
The province of Manitoba has expanded eligibility for a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to all First Nations, Inuit and Métis people as well as to anyone over 70.
Marcia Anderson, who leads the First Nations pandemic team, said it’s important for Indigenous people to be vaccinated.
“Populations that experience racism and marginalization, including Indigenous Peoples, have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19,” Anderson said Wednesday.
There must be six months between the second and third dose.
Indigenous people were hit hard by the second and third waves of the pandemic in Manitoba with higher infection, hospitalization and death rates than non-Indigenous people. Anderson said that’s linked to poverty, overcrowded housing and effects from the legacy of colonization.
According to statistics from the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team in Manitoba, there are a total of 685 First Nations people on and off-reserve in the province who have active cases – or 57 per cent of the provincial population. As of this post, 255 First Nations people have died from COVID-19.
