The rollout of the Moderna vaccine has begun in northern Indigenous communities in BC.

After nearly a year, over 2,000 individuals have become COVID-19 positive and 24 have died in the north, according to Northern Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shannon McDonald, from First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in a live press rollout Jan. 6.

The FNHA has been preparing for the rollout over the last few weeks in order to be ready for the arrival of the Moderna vaccine which came on Dec. 29.

McDonald and her associates have been working to help address "vaccine hesitancy" experienced by the residents of the northern BC Indigenous communities and want residents to experience "vaccine confidence."

Factors of endemic racism that exist in the health system in BC brought to light in the recently released report In Plain Sight, such as traumas suffered in hospitals and medical experimentation that took place in residential schools, are challenges that the FNHA have also had to address with residents of Northern BC who have voiced their concerns of taking the vaccine.

Elders are the focus in the first rollout of the vaccine and members of First Nations communities but anyone in the community over the age of 18 may receive the vaccine.

Dr. Becky Palmer, the chief nursing officer with the FNHA Northern office, called this "a historic time" and thanked the nurses and healthcare workers in the north for their support in this challenging time.

Here is Palmer, speaking about the planning of this roll out: