COVID-19 vaccines have now been made available to the homeless population.
Harvest House Atlantic in Moncton held the first of five vaccine clinics last month.Moncti
Deputy Executive Director Marc Belliveau says about 40 per cent of the residents chose to be vaccinated.
He says just to have the vaccine available was a big step, and put some minds at ease, “Also understand, not everyone wanted to receive it. It is no different in a shelter environment or a homeless community as it is in a general population, either misinformation or not having enough information, people wanting to just sit back and wait, see how different trials work before jumping in.”
Over 100 people were vaccinated in just over an hour.
Belliveau says, “This is a very vulnerable population who cohabitate very close together. If we can offer a vaccine and someone is willing to take it, that makes me happy because that gives them an opportunity to protect themselves a little bit more when living so closely with other people. This was a great first step to getting people vaccinated.”
The clinic was held in coordination with several community agencies including Ensemble, Reconnect, John Howard Society,Humanity Project, Salvation Army and Food Depot.
“What we have to do as agencies is put our best foot forward and make sure we are adhering to normal regulations. Are we wearing masks, are we distancing where we can, are people washing their hands? We really try to work with the government departments and they send us updated information on a regular basis to ensure we can take additional steps so we can be better prepared. Mitigation is the best response in this scenario,” Belliveau says.
