The Emerging Wisely plan is due for an update according to Health Minister Julie Green.
Green says the Chief Public Health Officer is working on the update which will be made available to the public the first week of June.
“Next Thursday evening at 7 p.m. the CPHO, myself, the premier and others will be giving a briefing on the Emerging Wisely plan,” she adds.
Updates to the plan, which has been in phase 2 since last June, was delayed by more than a month due in part to the recent covid outbreak at N.J. Macpherson School.
With all but three cases having recovered and 60 per cent of the eligible population having been fully vaccinated, Yellowknife North MLA Rylund Johnson says he believes people now need a vaccination target going forward.
But Green says it is not only the vaccination rate that the CPHO will be looking at when updating the plan.
“What the situation is in the provinces in terms of case counts, and whether those cases come from variants are very important to her calculation,” she adds.
Green also notes an additional shipment of 3,510 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has arrived in the NWT.
Vaccinations opened this week for youth aged 12-17 in Fort Smith, Hay River, and Inuvik.
Green says the clinic schedule will be updated next week to include opportunities for youth clinics in other NWT communities.
“The GNWT will visit each community at least once, if not twice, before the end of June 2021,” she adds.
Due to limited supply, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is reserved for youth aged 12-17 only at this time.
