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Feds report shipment of 900 COVID-19 bivalent vaccines to Yukon

Minister McPhee says new Health-Canada approved vaccine will be made available ‘as soon as we have it’
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Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee (right), seen with ASL interpreter Mary Tiessen (left), was joined virtually by Dr. Sudit Ranade for a COVID-19 update on Sept. 15. (Dana Hatherly/Yukon News)

The new COVID-19 bivalent vaccine could be rolling out in the Yukon any time now, according to the territory’s health minister.

As pointed out by the Whitehorse Star during a Sept. 15 COVID-19 update at the Yukon legislature cafeteria with Minister of Health and Social Services Tracy-Anne McPhee and chief medical officer of health Dr. Sudit Ranade, who appeared virtually due to mild respiratory symptoms, the Public Health Agency of Canada’s online dashboard for vaccine doses distributed nationally shows 900 doses have been sent to the Yukon as of Sept. 15.

But McPhee seemed unaware as to where those doses might be at.

“It will be available to Yukoners as soon as we have it,” McPhee said.

McPhee would not speculate on what could have led to the discrepancy between the federal government reporting and the number of vaccines that have yet to be received in the Yukon that she was aware of.

The vaccines arrive on a plane and are provided to the department for distribution, she said.

The rollout of the bivalent vaccine will be similar to the introduction of previous vaccines in the territory.

The pandemic is not over, but the territory is continuing to move into what Ranade calls the “acute stage.”

That means getting vaccinated and watching for upcoming recommendations that will work around integrating the current features of the COVID-19 response into the things that already exist, such as getting tested, he said.

Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com



Dana Hatherly

About the Author: Dana Hatherly

I’m the legislative reporter for the Yukon News.
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