Mr. Speaker, according to the information that we received, the Moderna vaccine should be administered 28 days apart but can be extended up to 42 days, if necessary. If a vaccine shortage continues, has the department begun a communication plan of what to do if residents cannot get their second vaccine within the 42 recommended days? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for the question. It is my understanding that we are still going to be able to vaccinate everyone by the end of March, but the composition of the shipments is going to change with less vaccine in February and more in March. At this time, we believe that everyone will be vaccinated within the 42-day limit, and if that is not the case, we will certainly communicate that. Thank you.
Can the Minister confirm if the NWT would consider the following as having been achieved: a robust rapid testing strategy has been implemented; community spread remains limited; and a strong system of contact tracing remains in place, and all active cases of COVID-19 can have their contacts effectively traced? If not, can the Minister please explain.
I am proud to tell the Member that we have achieved all of those milestones.
I understand the last requirement of moving from phase 2 is a second surge of infection in Canada and the United States has come and gone, with new cases falling over time and the epidemiological curve has demonstrably flattened. This has not been met. With our border controls in place and a 14-day mandatory isolation in place, will the Minister be looking into moving into phase 3 once we have completed implementing our vaccine plan and our most vulnerable population has been vaccinated?
What the Chief Public Health Officer has said is that, with the number of cases active in the South at this time and with the low rates of vaccination forecasted in this House relative to the entire population, it's more likely that there will be a relaxation of measures within the Northwest Territories rather than opening our borders. Specifically, she has talked about increasing gathering sizes. Those things are possible once the vaccination has been widely distributed in the Northwest Territories. I think it's worth pointing out that many of the items that were to occur in phase 3 have, in fact, occurred in phase 2 because people have asked her to move up the different activities, based on the good containment of our cases.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to clarify that: So with the vaccine, if we do get the vaccine and we are at 75 percent vaccinated, the Minister will commit to negotiating a lot more opening up this summer? Because I feel that, like I said in my Member's statement, we are really going to lose some of our vital, important staff, especially outside of Yellowknife. It is come to Inuvik. You came to Inuvik. The Premier came to Inuvik. There is nothing open there. There is nothing going on there. There is no social life. There is nothing that is keeping people. Even the youth are having mental health issues because it's harder and harder to socialize. So I am really happy to hear that from the Minister. I am just hoping that they can get the vaccine and get it going, and we can get opening up a little bit more inside the territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I recognize that people are really feeling COVID fatigue in the dark and the cold and that they are really looking forward to getting together with other members of their communities and their families, both within the NWT and outside of the NWT, and so I think the Chief Public Health Officer is aware of that, too. Ultimately, the decision about what phase we are in is up to her. She is the one who we have tasked with the public health assessment, and so I cannot make a commitment. However, I can certainly tell you that she has set some thresholds for enabling more gathering in the NWT and for opening the borders, and so let's see how the vaccine goes and take it a step at a time. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
