Ontario ‘regrets’ error that led to false claim of COVID-19 vaccinations in LTC homes
Posted February 11, 2021 8:05 am.
Last Updated February 11, 2021 6:48 pm.
Ontario’s minister of long-term care is apologizing for an earlier statement that claimed all residents in the province’s long-term care homes had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The province had committed to vaccinating every eligible long-term care resident who wanted a shot by Wednesday.
However, Lambton Public Health told CityNews their first round of vaccinations was not complete and would be finished in the next few days.
Premier Doug Ford made the announcement on Twitter before deleting the tweet a short time later.
In a statement, the province said, “Due to a miscommunication, it was reported that 100 per cent of homes had received their first vaccines when a small number of homes have not completed them yet… We sincerely regret the error.”
The government has now deleted tweet below which stated ALL long term care homes have received first vaccinations – they have not. Still no response from government since I asked about this pic.twitter.com/Z3yxPThXm1
— Cynthia Mulligan (@CityCynthia) February 11, 2021
They said the last long-term care homes who haven’t completed their first round of vaccinations will be done later this week.
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The Ministry of Long-Term Care said more than 62,000 residents have received the first dose of the vaccine, and more than 34,000 of them have received their second dose.
The provincial government said it will maintain the recommended interval of 21-27 days for residents who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
“This milestone marks an important step towards the immunization of our most vulnerable,” said Merrilee Fullerton, minister of long-term care.