Environmental scan of provincial and territorial planning for COVID-19 vaccination programs in Canada

Shannon MacDonald; Hannah Sell; Sarah Wilson; Samantha Meyer; Arnaud Gagneur; Ali Assi; Manish Sadarangani; members of the COVImm Study Team

doi:10.14745/ccdr.v47i56a07

Environmental scan of provincial and territorial planning for COVID-19 vaccination programs in Canada

Can Commun Dis Rep. 2021 Jun 9;47(56):285-291. doi: 10.14745/ccdr.v47i56a07.

Authors

Shannon MacDonald¹, Hannah Sell^{1

2}, Sarah Wilson³, Samantha Meyer⁴, Arnaud Gagneur⁵, Ali Assi¹, Manish Sadarangani⁶; members of the COVImm Study Team

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB.
² School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB.
³ Public Health Ontario, Toronto, ON.
⁴ School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON.
⁵ Département de pédiatrie, Université de Sherbrooke, Centre de Recherche du CHUS, Sherbrooke, QC.
⁶ University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.

Abstract

Background: Public health departments in Canada are currently facing the challenging task of planning and implementing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination programs.

Objective: To collect and synthesize information regarding COVID-19 vaccination program planning in each province and territory of Canada, including logistic considerations, priority groups, and vaccine safety and effectiveness monitoring.

Methods: Provincial/territorial public health leaders were interviewed via teleconference during the early planning stage of COVID-19 vaccination programs (August-October 2020) to collect information on the following topics: unique factors for COVID-19 vaccination, intention to adopt National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommendations, priority groups for early vaccination, and vaccine safety and effectiveness monitoring. Data were grouped according to common responses and descriptive analysis was performed.

Results: Eighteen interviews occurred with 25 participants from 11 of 13 provinces/territories (P/Ts). Factors unique to COVID-19 vaccination included prioritizing groups for early vaccination (n=7), public perception of vaccines (n=6), and differing eligibility criteria (n=5). Almost all P/Ts (n=10) reported reliance on NACI recommendations. Long-term care residents (n=10) and healthcare workers (n=10) were most frequently prioritized for early vaccination, followed by people with chronic medical conditions (n=9) and seniors (n=8). Most P/Ts (n=9) are planning routine adverse event monitoring to assess vaccine safety. Evaluation of effectiveness was anticipated to occur within public health departments (n=3), by researchers (n=3), or based on national guidance (n=4).

Conclusion: Plans for COVID-19 vaccination programs in the P/Ts exhibit some similarities and are largely consistent with NACI guidelines, with some discrepancies. Further research is needed to evaluate COVID-19 vaccination programs once implemented.

Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; vaccination; vaccination program; vaccine.

2021.