Environmental scan of provincial and territorial planning for COVID-19 vaccination programs in Canada

  1. Shannon MacDonald
  2. Hannah Sell
  3. Sarah Wilson
  4. Samantha Meyer
  5. Arnaud Gagneur
  6. Ali Assi
  7. Manish Sadarangani

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Abstract

Background: Public health departments in Canada are currently facing the challenging task of planning and implementing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination programs. Objective: To collect and synthesize information regarding COVID-19 vaccination program planning in each province and territory of Canada, including logistic considerations, priority groups, and vaccine safety and effectiveness monitoring. Methods: Provincial/territorial public health leaders were interviewed via teleconference during the early planning stage of COVID-19 vaccination programs (August–October 2020) to collect information on the following topics: unique factors for COVID-19 vaccination, intention to adopt National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommendations, priority groups for early vaccination, and vaccine safety and effectiveness monitoring. Data were grouped according to common responses and descriptive analysis was performed. Results: Eighteen interviews occurred with 25 participants from 11 of 13 provinces/territories (P/Ts). Factors unique to COVID-19 vaccination included prioritizing groups for early vaccination (n=7), public perception of vaccines (n=6), and differing eligibility criteria (n=5). Almost all P/Ts (n=10) reported reliance on NACI recommendations. Long-term care residents (n=10) and healthcare workers (n=10) were most frequently prioritized for early vaccination, followed by people with chronic medical conditions (n=9) and seniors (n=8). Most P/Ts (n=9) are planning routine adverse event monitoring to assess vaccine safety. Evaluation of effectiveness was anticipated to occur within public health departments (n=3), by researchers (n=3), or based on national guidance (n=4). Conclusion: Plans for COVID-19 vaccination programs in the P/Ts exhibit some similarities and are largely consistent with NACI guidelines, with some discrepancies. Further research is needed to evaluate COVID-19 vaccination programs once implemented.

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  1. Version published to 10.14745/ccdr.v47i56a07
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.12.22.20248685: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementConsent: Interested individuals were emailed an information sheet and consent form.
    IRB: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Health Research Ethics Board at the University of Alberta.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Descriptive analysis of response counts was performed using Microsoft Excel.
    Microsoft Excel
    suggested: (Microsoft Excel, RRID:SCR_016137)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    Strengths and Limitations: A strength of the current study was the wide variety of perspectives that were obtained on COVID-19 vaccination program planning from most P/Ts. As well, the use of key informant interviews in this study allowed us to gather in-depth perspectives on COVID-19 vaccination program planning in each P/T. However, as only a few select individuals were interviewed from each P/T, the perspectives gathered are not representative of entire P/Ts. Furthermore, there may be variation in individual perspectives across a single P/T, although the perspectives shared were very consistent within a given P/T. As well, interviews were conducted during a period when COVID-19 vaccination planning was in its early stages. It will be interesting to confirm whether early plans have changed since the release of NACI guidance documents (3,4). Implications: The implementation of COVID-19 vaccination programs in Canada is in the very early stages. There is an opportunity to expand on this study’s findings through a variety of research avenues, including the assessment of each P/T’s finalized COVID-19 vaccination plan, and how variation in vaccination programs ultimately affects vaccine uptake and effectiveness in each P/T. This study adds to existing literature by synthesizing P/T public health perspectives on COVID-19 vaccination programs. Results can inform policymakers and program planners and can assist NACI in future development of national guidelines. As well, we anticipa...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2020.12.22.20248685v1 on medRxiv