BARRIE, ONT. -- Georgian College staff and paramedic students are bringing the COVID-19 vaccine to an Indigenous fly-in community in northern Ontario.
The mission is part of Operation Remote Immunity, and Georgian College is the sole college to participate in the vaccination program in Ontario.
The team of six, including two instructors and four students, will land in Eabametoong First Nation, about 350 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, to give second doses of the Moderna vaccine to residents.
Georgian paramedic instructor Johathan Lee said the trip would provide critical hands-on learning.
"[The] first-hand experience with Indigenous peoples or Ontario's remote communities will provide an opportunity for learning that cannot be replicated in the classroom," Lee said.
Before their arrival, the team will be vaccinated and tested for COVID-19, and undergo cultural training.
"The training includes a look at the variations of Indigenous cultures, current and historical impacts of colonialism, and the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples," Lee said.
In the last seven weeks, Operation Remote Immunity has administered more than 15,000 doses of the vaccine in 31 remote, fly-in Indigenous communities and Moosonee.
The team will administer the vaccine in Eabametoong from March 22 to 26.
