The NWT’s health authority says the territory’s supply of Covid-19 vaccine is “currently limited” after a shipment spoiled in transit.
Some forms of vaccine must be stored at specific temperatures to remain usable.
Vaccines that need to be kept refrigerated are shipped via what is known as a “cold chain” – a supply chain that guarantees the same cold temperature throughout.
A “temporary cold-chain issue,” however, ruined a shipment destined for the NWT according to a statement issued by the health authority late last week.
“High-risk individuals will be prioritized until new shipments arrive,” the health authority stated. No timeline for another shipment to arrive was given.
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In the meantime, anyone turning up at a vaccine clinic will be offered only a flu shot unless they identify as being at a high risk of severe illness or complications.
Up to this point, the health authority stated, there has been “strong uptake” for both the flu and Covid-19 vaccine where available.
The latest nationwide data, from mid-October, suggests low to moderate levels of Covid-19 in those provinces and territories where figures were given. (The NWT is not included in the most recent national geographical snapshot.)
Wastewater monitoring data in the NWT identified a moderate level of Covid-19 in Yellowknife and a low level in Norman Wells for the period October 12-25.
Only three communities supplied monitoring data for that period. The third, Behchokǫ̀, submitted a sample in which no Covid-19 was detected.
Influenza A and influenza B were not detected in any of the three communities’ latest samples, though that doesn’t guarantee the virus is absent.
