Seniors living in the Manoir Roger Bernard apartment building in Pierrefonds, Que., have been waiting since March 2 for home visits to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
That was when the original inoculations were scheduled to begin.
The March 2 date, however, was cancelled and moved to March 11, but health authorities never arrived — leaving many residents wondering why they should believe officials will come on March 15.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Marlene Shepherd told Global News.
The resident of the complex is hoping that this time, health authorities will keep their word. “I really want to see my granddaughters at Easter,” she said.
Carol Padulo isn’t waiting that long. She already went to the Montreal General Hospital to get that coveted first shot in the arm.
But she’s not impressed with the way local health authorities are handling the situation.
“I’m still ticked off if they don’t come here,” she told Global News.
Many residents were called last weekend by regional health officials asking the seniors questions about their identity and Medicare info.
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But no promises were given about when health officials would show up to administer the shot.
“It’s upsetting because it’s such a simple thing in the end,” Ed Staniewicz told Global News.
In an email to Global News, Annie Charbonneau, a spokesperson for the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, wrote, “The vaccinations of Manoir Roger-Bernard are scheduled for March 15th and 16th…We wish to reassure residents, that those who want, will be vaccinated.”
The borough mayor says the local health board has been doing a good job overall in the area, but Jim Beis says he sympathizes with the seniors who are still waiting.
“There is no question that I understand the folks living in this facility how anxious they must be when they’re seeing other senior facilities that are getting vaccinated or have already been vaccinated,” Jim Beis, Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough mayor, told Global News.
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