Phase 2 of vaccination campaign in Arctic Quebec starts March 30
Phase 2 of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Nunavik, the Inuit region of Arctic Quebec, will start on March 30 in the community of Kuujjuaraapik.
The campaign will continue through to the end of April with vaccination teams staying approximately one week in each of the region’s 14 communities.
“The vaccine is safe, it will help to move toward a return to normalcy and quite possibly a relaxation of certain measures,” the Nunavik Regional Board of the Health and Social Services (NRBHSS) said in a Facebook post.
During the first phase of the campaign, 5,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine were delivered to the region. Of those, 4,880 have been administered.
The NRBHSS said the average COVID-19 vaccine coverage for adults in Nunavik is 48 per cent, and that their current goal is 75 per cent in all communities.
More than 50 per cent coverage:
- Kangiqsualujjuaq 65%
- Kuujjuaraapik 64%
- Kuujjuaq 57 %
Between 35 and 50 per cent coverage:
- Ivujivik 46%
- Umiujaq 45%
- Kangiqsujuaq 37%
- Salluit 35%
Less than 35 per cent coverage:
- Aupaluk 32%
- Quaqtaq 32%
- Puvirnituq 32%
- Akulivik 32%
- Tasiujaq 32%
- Kangirsuk 29%
- Inukjuak 29%
Source: Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services
By age group, coverage is 84 per cent for people 70 years and over, 68 per cent for people 55-69 years of age and 43 per cent for people 18-54 years old.
The full schedule for the phase 2 vaccinations teams will be posted by the NRBHSS when it becomes available.
Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Arctic Tourism & the Pandemic podcast, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Traffic, mobile data show Lapland travellers not deterred by worsening COVID situation in Finland, Yle News
Denmark/Greenland: Greenland authorities buoyed by high demand for COVID-19 vaccine, Eye on the Arctic
Iceland: UK variant cases prompt Iceland to tighten up border measures and domestic restrictions, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Norway extends border closure with Finland due to pandemic, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Norway closes borders over fears of virus, but exempts Russian fishermen from severely infected border region, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: COVID-19 strategy darkens Sweden’s image in the Nordics, Radio Sweden
United States: Alaska politicians send Trudeau letter saying they’re “shocked” over Canada’s COVID-19 cruise ship ban, Eye on the Arctic
