Coast Salish Territory – The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is pleased to provide the following response to questions being raised about why First Nations have been identified as a high priority to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in BC.
“From the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic both the FNHA and BC Ministry of Health (MoH) worked in collaboration and in accordance with Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI)," says Richard Jock, the FNHA Chief Executive Officer. “It is important to note that the vaccine rollout to First Nations in the province was predicated on a clear understanding of the heightened risk that the COVID-19 virus posed to Indigenous people in BC.“
NACI makes recommendations for the use of vaccines currently or newly approved for use in humans in Canada, including the identification of those groups at increased risk for vaccine-preventable diseases for whom vaccination should be targeted.
The following factors formed the basis of the NACI recommendations:
• Racialized and marginalized populations in Canada have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
• Systemic barriers to accessing necessary supportive care for COVID-19 also exist in urban settings related to factors such as poverty, systemic racism and homelessness.
• The risk of transmission is especially high in remote or isolated First Nations communities where physical distancing and other infection prevention and control measures are challenging and individuals may not be able to exercise sufficient personal actions to adequately protect themselves from infection.
• Remote or isolated communities may not have ready access to sufficient health care infrastructure.
• Indigenous people have been identified as a high risk group and therefore, are a high priority to receive an initial dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“It is an unfortunate truth that First Nations communities and Indigenous people are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 virus. To date, the rate of First Nations people in BC who have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus is more than double that of the non-First Nations community, and the median age of death due to COVID-19 was 18 years younger for First Nations compared to the provincial median", says Dr. Shannon McDonald, FNHA Acting Chief Medical Officer. “This, and other data, is at the core of the need to quickly and efficiently deliver the COVID-19 vaccine to First Nations both in-community, and urban and away from home settings, as quickly as possible."
As of March 17, 2021 COVID-19 data reveals that:
• First Nations tested positive for COVID-19 at a rate of 3660 people per 100,000 compared to 1713 per 100,000 in other residents of BC, more than double the rate1.
• The median age of hospitalization for First Nations with COVID-19 was 11 years younger than the provincial median. Half of the First Nations people admitted to hospital with COVID-19 were under the age of 55, while half of the people in BC admitted to hospital with COVID-19 were under the age of 661,2.
• The median age of ICU admissions for First Nations was six years younger than the provincial median. Half of the First Nations people admitted to ICU were younger than 59, while half of the people in BC admitted to ICU with COVID-19 were under the age of 651, 2.
• The median age of death for First Nations who died from COVID-19 was 18 years younger for First Nations compared to the provincial median. Half the First Nations people who died from COVID-19 were under the age of 67, while half of the people in BC who died from COVID-19 were younger than 851, 2.
1Provincial Laboratory Information Services data as of March 17, 2021
2COVID case line list prepared by BCCDC, as of March 17, 2021
Learn more: To find out more about First Nations Health Authority, visit: http://www.fnha.ca/
Media Contact:
Kevin Boothroyd
Director, Media Relations
First Nations Health Authority
(M) 604-831-4898
(Email) media@fnha.ca
