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Nickel NC, Phillips-Beck W, Enns JE, Ekuma O, Taylor C, Fileatreault S, Eze N, Star L, Lavoie J, Katz A, Brownell M, Mahar A, Urquia M, Chateau D, Lix L, Chartier M, Brownell E, Tso Deh M, Durksen A, Romanescu R. COVID-19 diagnostic testing and vaccinations among First Nations in Manitoba: A nations-based retrospective cohort study using linked administrative data, 2020-2021. PLoS Med 2024; 21:e1004348. [PMID: 38363739 PMCID: PMC10871479 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Differential access to healthcare has contributed to a higher burden of illness and mortality among First Nations compared to other people in Canada. Throughout the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, First Nations organizations in Manitoba partnered with public health and Manitoba government officials to ensure First Nations had early, equitable and culturally safe access to COVID-19 diagnostic testing and vaccination. In this study, we examined whether prioritizing First Nations for vaccination was associated with faster uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among First Nations versus All Other Manitobans (AOM). METHODS AND FINDINGS In this retrospective cohort study, we used linked, whole-population administrative data from the Manitoba healthcare system (February 2020 to December 2021) to determine rates of COVID-19 diagnostic testing, infection, and vaccination, and used adjusted restricted mean survival time (RMST) models to test whether First Nations received their first and second vaccine doses more quickly than other Manitobans. The cohort comprised 114,816 First Nations (50.6% female) and 1,262,760 AOM (50.1% female). First Nations were younger (72.3% were age 0 to 39 years) compared to AOM (51% were age 0 to 39 years) and were overrepresented in the lowest 2 income quintiles (81.6% versus 35.6% for AOM). The 2 groups had a similar burden of comorbidities (65.8% of First Nations had none and 6.3% had 3 or more; 65.9% of AOM had none and 6.0% had 3 or more) and existing mental disorders (36.9% of First Nations were diagnosed with a mood/anxiety disorder, psychosis, personality disorder, or substance use disorder versus 35.2% of AOM). First Nations had crude infection rates of up to 17.20 (95% CI 17.15 to 17.24) COVID-19 infections/1,000 person-months compared with up to 6.24 (95% CI 6.16 to 6.32) infections/1,000 person-months among AOM. First Nations had crude diagnostic testing rates of up to 103.19 (95% CI 103.06 to 103.32) diagnostic COVID-19 tests/1,000 person-months compared with up to 61.52 (95% CI 61.47 to 61.57) tests/1,000 person-months among AOM. Prioritizing First Nations to receive vaccines was associated with faster vaccine uptake among First Nations versus other Manitobans. After adjusting for age, sex, income, region of residence, mental health conditions, and comorbidities, we found that First Nations residents received their first vaccine dose an average of 15.5 (95% CI 14.9 to 16.0) days sooner and their second dose 13.9 (95% CI 13.3 to 14.5) days sooner than other Manitobans in the same age group. The study was limited by the discontinuation of population-based COVID-19 testing and data collection in December 2021. As well, it would have been valuable to have contextual data on potential barriers to COVID-19 testing or vaccination, including, for example, information on social and structural barriers faced by Indigenous and other racialized people, or the distrust Indigenous people may have in governments due to historical harms. CONCLUSION In this study, we observed that the partnered COVID-19 response between First Nations and the Manitoba government, which oversaw creation and enactment of policies prioritizing First Nations for vaccines, was associated with vaccine acceptance and quick uptake among First Nations. This approach may serve as a useful framework for future public health efforts in Manitoba and other jurisdictions across Canada.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan C. Nickel
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | | | - Jennifer E. Enns
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Okechukwu Ekuma
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Carole Taylor
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Sarah Fileatreault
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Nkiru Eze
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Leona Star
- First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Josée Lavoie
- Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Alan Katz
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
- Dept of Family Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Marni Brownell
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Alyson Mahar
- School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada
| | - Marcelo Urquia
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Dan Chateau
- National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, College of Health and Medicine, Australia National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Lisa Lix
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
- George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Mariette Chartier
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Emily Brownell
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Miyosha Tso Deh
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Anita Durksen
- Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Razvan Romanescu
- Dept of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
- George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
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