TORONTO -- Retired engineer and school teacher Bill and Jennifer Graham of Toronto, Ont. have been trying to do the right thing ever since they travelled to Fort Myers, Fla., to do repairs on their residence in early January.
While there, Governor Ron DeSantis opened up Florida鈥檚 vaccination parameters to include seasonal residents 鈥 which meant the Grahams, and thousands of other Canada鈥檚 Snowbirds, were able to get inoculated. In April, the Grahams returned to Canada by flying into Buffalo, N.Y., and driving across the border to avoid the mandatory hotel quarantine implemented for passengers flying into the country.
It was there that they had their first brush with what some are calling a massive oversight in the federal and provincial vaccination data collection.
鈥淲hen we were at the border, the customs and immigration guys鈥hey're all very professional, they're all very helpful,鈥 Graham said of the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) in a telephone interview with CTVNews.ca Friday. 鈥淏ut we asked them about the [vaccination] data, they all said, 鈥榣ook, we have no mandate, we have no way of doing anything with the information.鈥欌
Graham said he informed his doctor that he was vaccinated to keep his personal records up to date, but when he attempted to let his local public health unit know of his vaccination status so they could upload it to the central COVaxON system his efforts were stalled.
鈥淭hey emailed me back a very polite message saying they were unable to register my vaccination status,鈥 Graham said. 鈥淭hen they told me I could upload my information to the EHealthOntario website or the CANImmunize App if I wanted to keep track of my records myself.鈥
CTVNews.ca reviewed the email Toronto Public Health sent Graham dated June 1, 2021, which states:
鈥淎t this time, it is not possible to report your COVID-19 immunizations you received outside of Canada to Toronto Public Health or the Province. We are waiting for the Ontario provincial government to provide us with information regarding how those who were vaccinated outside of the country and province can report their immunizations.鈥
Ontario鈥檚 Ministry of Health鈥檚 vaccinated outside of the province or the country 鈥 published three days after the Graham鈥檚 received an email from Toronto Public Health -- states that 鈥渋ndividuals who have received a partial or complete COVID-19 vaccine series outside of Ontario or Canada should contact their local public health unit to have their COVID-19 immunization record documented into COVaxON.鈥
The guidance continues that all individuals who have received all recommended doses of a Health Canada authorized COVID-19 vaccine given outside of the province or outside of Canada are 鈥渃onsidered to have a complete vaccine series and no additional doses are needed.鈥
In a statement emailed to CTVNews.ca Friday evening, the Ontario Ministry of Health said "while the functionality to add out-of-province vaccinations to the COVAX database has been implemented, it is up to each public health unit (PHU) to put in place their own process for doing so. We are working with all of the PHUs to ensure that processes are in place. Please contact individual PHUs for more information."
This means the thousands of Canadians inoculated in the U.S. and abroad with Health Canada-approved vaccines are recognized as fully vaccinated from a medical standpoint鈥 but may not be registered or counted in provincial and national inoculation tallies, which are forming the basis of most re-opening plans.
鈥楧O I NOT COUNT?鈥
In a statement to CTVNews.ca Friday the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said vaccines received by Canadians in other countries are captured by provincial and territorial immunization registries and are only counted if the vaccinated individuals voluntarily submit their proof of inoculation to their local public health unit.
However, the March 2021 Auditor General report highlighted the poor collaboration and shortcomings between the provinces and territories in sharing data with their national counterparts.
Those who have been vaccinated abroad say they are still struggling to register their status provincially, leading to frustrations at what they say is lack of communication and an oversight in vaccination tallies.
鈥淲e've called the Halton Public Health Unit twice now to tell them about our vaccinations,鈥 Burlington, Ont.-resident Anita Sauve, who spent the winter with her family in their condo in Mexico and flew to Texas to get vaccinated, said in a telephone interview with CTVNews.ca Friday. 鈥淭he first time they said, 鈥榯hat's a good point. Let me get back to you.鈥欌
Sauve said she called again last week and was told the public health unit 鈥渉as no way of tracking that鈥 information, nor could they upload her status into COVaxON.
鈥淭hey said鈥 鈥業'm getting a whole bunch of calls about it, but there's really nothing we can do,鈥欌 she continued, adding that she was told her family may have to carry proof of vaccination around with them to avoid issues, 鈥渨hich is just ridiculous.鈥
鈥淭hey're talking about lifting restrictions at the border and fully vaccinated Canadians not having to quarantine - do I not count because I got it out of the country?" Sauve said.
鈥淚t's completely unfair and wrong.鈥
The Canadians Snowbirds Association (CSA) told CTVNews.ca in an email Friday that the organization estimates that approximately 30 per cent of Canadian Snowbirds travelled this season, and in a 鈥渢ypical鈥 year, that鈥檚 more than one million people heading south.
The CSA also said they had received 鈥渁 number of complaints鈥 from members that their local public health units are unable to register their vaccination status upon their return.
鈥淚鈥檓 just frustrated,鈥 Sauve said of the provincial and federal response to vaccinations outside of the country. 鈥淲e have the capability to do so much better.鈥
ARRIVECAN APP
As provinces slowly phase into re-opening, Canadians hoping to travel once restrictions are lifted have been pointing out that the government already has a platform that could be used for travelers to upload their vaccination status 鈥 the ArriveCAN app.
鈥淚t seems to be a good app, I can鈥檛 see why they鈥檙e not using it for that,鈥 said Graham.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said last week that vaccine certification was being integrated into ArriveCAN, an effort spearheaded by the CBSA.
PHAC said in their statement 鈥渁dditional details on the requirements for providing proof of vaccination and how to enter it into will be available online in the coming weeks.鈥
But for now, people like Jennifer Pfeiffer, who lives in Ottawa, Ont., and has dual citizenship with the U.S., have to wait. Pfeiffer decided to take advantage of the state of New Hampshire鈥檚 COVID-19 vaccination protocols, which were widened to include all adults in April, and drove down in a 12-hour round trip for a drive through vaccination.
鈥淚t was right at the peak of the third wave in Ontario鈥nd I wouldn鈥檛 become eligible in Canada until whenever they opened up vaccinations for 18 to 40 year-olds,鈥漃feiffer said in a telephone interview with CTVNews.ca Friday. 鈥淚 was concerned and I didn鈥檛 want to wait鈥 was doubly-vaccinated in the States before I was eligible here.鈥
When she returned, her attempts to let Ottawa Public Health know of her vaccination status were unsuccessful.
Pfeiffer said she called and emailed Ottawa Public Health, the Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson鈥檚 office, her local MP, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott and her local city councillors to try and rectify the situation.
鈥淲hat bothers me is that I have to play ping pong between the Ministry of Health and Ottawa Public Health,鈥 she said. 鈥淚n my small neighbourhood in Ottawa there are at least 20 of us 鈥 dual citizens who have gone down to the states and gotten vaccinated. They're missing data, their data is flawed.鈥
Pfeiffer said she understands that public health organizations are 鈥渙verwhelmed鈥 trying to get Canadians vaccinated but that it鈥檚 important to note that Ontario might actually have hit its vaccination targets earlier than thought 鈥渋f they actually had a way for Snowbirds and dual citizens to enter that data.鈥
鈥淚 know that I have extreme privilege to be able to do this,鈥 Pfeiffer said of her U.S. vaccination trip. 鈥淚t's just when they're relying on this data and they know this data is wrong because they鈥檝e known since January that Snowbirds are getting vaccinated in the states - they've had this time to prepare.鈥
