Seven of 14 health districts in Northern Manitoba are lagging behind the province as a whole when it comes to the percentage of adults who’ve been vaccinated.
Only one Northern Manitoba health district has fewer than half of its residents aged 18 and up vaccinated against COVID-19. according to a provincial government vaccine uptake map.
As of May 24, 45.8 per cent of adults in the Lynn Lake/Marcel Colomb/Leaf Rapdis/O-Pipon-Na-Piwin(South Indian Lake)/Granville health district had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Five other health districts, including the one where the region’s only immunization super site is located, have uptake rates between 50 and 59.9 per cent. 50.1 per cent of residents in the Nelson House/Nisichawayasihk health district have received at least one dose of vaccine, as have 50.9 per cent of those in the Sayisi/Tadoule/Barren Lands/Brochet/Northlands/Lac Brochet district, while in Pukatawagan/Mathias Colomb the rate is 52.3 per cent and in Grand Rapids/Misipawistik/Moose Lake/Mosakahiken/Easterville/Chemawawin it is 52.9 per cent. Thompson/Mystery Lake, home of the vaccination super site at the Thompson regional Community Centre, has seen 58.6 per cent of residents receive at least one dose of vaccine, just ahead of The Pas/Opaskwayak/Kelsey, where 58.3 per cent have. A second northern super site is going to be established in The Pas next month the provincial government said May 21.
Uptake is higher than 80 per cent in the Cross Lake/Pimicikamak (82.5 per cent), Norway House (82.3 per cent) and Island Lake (80.7 per cent) health districts. The only district with between 70 and 80 per cent of residents at least partially vaccinated is Bay Line at 71.7 per cent
The Bunibonibee/Oxford House/Manto Sipi/God’s River/God’s Lake (67.2), Shamattawa/YorkFactory/Tataskweyak/Split Lake (64.6), Gillam/Fox Lake (64.5) and Flin Flon/Snow Lake/Cranberry/Sherridon (63.9) all have more than six in 10 adult residents partially or fully vaccinated.
Vaccination uptake rates don’t have any direct discernible correlation with infections at this point. The Island Lake district leads the north in the total number of cases and current active cases despite having more than eight in 10 adults vaccinated. The Lynn Lake/Marcel Colomb/Leaf Rapids/O-Pipon-Na-Piwin(South Indian Lake)/Granville health district is well down the list both in terms of total cases (ninth) and active cases (10th) within the Northern Regional Health Authority.
Overall, about 60.3 per cent of Manitoban adults or 55.3 per cent of all Manitobans aged 12 and up have received at least one dose of vaccine. Only about 35,000 Northern Manitobans have received a first dose so far, slightly less than half the region’s population.
