NWT communities recognize a need to encourage vaccine uptake and a new GNWT program could be a solution, especially for vaccine-hesitant youths.
The territorial government and the NWT Association of Communities (NWTAC) announced on May 17 a new initiative offering up to $10,000 per community to roll out programs to encourage more vaccinations among residents.
RELATED REPORTING: GNWT funding for proposals to improve vaccine uptake in communities
Vaccination rates in the territory stood at 59 per cent for full vaccination and 67 per cent for partial vaccination as of May 20, according to the GNWT’s COVID-19 Dashboard.
SEE MORE: COVID-19 Vaccine Coverage: NWT Residents (18+)
The number of people aged 12-17 who received Pfizer-BioNTech shots starting on May 7 has not yet been added to data on the dashboard, said Department of Health and Social Services (HSS) spokesperson Damien Healy.
RELATED REPORTING: Pfizer vaccines now available for Yellowknife youths
Fort Resolution
Patrick Simon, mayor of Fort Resolution, plans to discuss the funding programs with hamlet council as there’s a need in the South Slave community to raise vaccination rates.
“I think we have 51 per cent full vaccination of adults. We’re not too sure with the young people yet,” he said. “About 63-65 per cent have had one dose. It seems to be the older population, 50 and older, who have been more receptive. The younger ones tend to have a little more hesitancy. They don’t take it as seriously as the older population.”
Whether the hamlet applies to NWTAC for the funding depends on the leeway the association gives in its criteria.
Simon suggested promotional campaigns, a feast or a barbecue could work in the community.
He also thinks that any initiative would have to target how residents receive their information.
“Someone like me will sit down at 6 o’clock and watch the news on TV, but I don’t see young people doing that. They’ll be on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or on the internet.”
If it was up to Simon, the community would hold a lottery to encourage vaccinations, he said with a slight laugh.
“If you’re vaccinated, we’ll put your name in a hat and you can win a good prize. If you want to target the young, what do they most want? Those games on the phones, or the most updated smartphones. If you offer something like that, young people might make an effort. For older people, maybe it could something traditional like moccasins or mitts.”
Colville Lake
Youth uncertainty towards vaccines also persists in the Sahtu community of Colville Lake, and much of the hesitancy is rooted in misinformation on social media, said Chief Wilbert Kochon.
RELATED REPORTING: Tlicho, Sahtu regions have lowest vaccination rates in NWT
People aged 18 to 35 are reluctant to get their shots, in contrast to the First Nation’s leadership and Elders, who have all been vaccinated, he said.
While Kochon is open to the possibilities of the NWTAC funding, he feels HSS should have done its own vaccine promotion campaigns instead of transferring some of those tasks to communities.
“We have to do more than just put money behind this. It would be nice to ask more young people about this and not just the leaders. Young people should get more involved. We have to build up that trust and help the young people,” he said. “We’re busy enough already and short-staffed all the time. We’ll talk about it and we’ll see what we can do.”
Focus is on all communities: NWTAC
Vaccination rates in the NWT are lowest in the Tlicho and Sahtu regions, at 43 and 47 per cent, respectively, but the NWTAC initiative targets all communities in the NWT, said association CEO Sara Brown.
Criteria for program approval is similarly broad.
“We have no preconceived notions of what (programs) might look like. We think the communities and Indigenous governments will have some great ideas and they know their communities best,” Brown said.
NWTAC and HSS will review and prioritize applications – due by May 31 – based on their number and nature of the proposed programs, she added.
Tulita tries to be one jab ahead
In Tulita, the hamlet will apply for funding as the community was already considering how it could encourage more people to get their jabs before the NWTAC announced the funding program, said interim senior administrative officer Don Smeltzer.
“My personal view is that the initial vaccination rate was positive, (but) there is still a way to go,” Smeltzer said.
He declined to specify the level of vaccination in the Sahtu hamlet out of confidentiality concerns.
“We are looking at promotional efforts that will target the whole community,” he said. “(That) may involve door-to-door campaigning, display of promotional literature throughout the hamlet, small group presentations, perhaps a weekly prize draw for those who sign up, and more. The community is being asked to provide input.”
In the oil town of Norman Wells, the council will apply for NWTAC funding if it can prepare an efficient plan to use the funding, said Mayor Frank Pope.
Most residents have received both vaccine doses, Pope said in April.
“We intend to make use of incentives to encourage everyone, young and old, to get vaccinated. Not only for their own safety but for all of our residents.”
Sky’s the limit for vaccination target?
NWT chief public health officer Dr. Kami Kandola had said in the first few months of 2021 that the NWT’s goal is to vaccinate 75 per cent of the eligible population.
The messaging from health officials began to change in March and April, when the 75 per cent goal came under question due to the spread of COVID-19 variants and the rate of vaccinations.
RELATED REPORTING: 75 per cent vaccination goal ‘now in question’
RELATED REPORTING: Top doc taps Fed’s for more vaccines as NWT projects shortage
Additional vaccine allotments into June would allow the NWT to vaccinate 85 per cent of the eligible population, said Healy, suggesting the goal was revised upwards.
Kandola then said on May 3 that there wasn’t one specific vaccination target, although she added that the provision of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for teenagers would enhance the NWT’s ability to control the spread of COVID-19.
RELATED REPORTING: NWT to get 18,800 more COVID-19 vaccine doses
RELATED REPORTING: Majority of people infected in N.J. Macpherson outbreak are children, says Kandola
