There are strong rumblings that not all is well with the Yukon government’s rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Star received several calls Thursday afternoon and this morning from people concerned about the way the government is handling the clinics.

One of those people, Shona Armstrong, was particularly vocal with her complaints.

On Thursday evening, she told the Star, she noticed approximately 50 empty appointment slots for this morning at the clinic at the Yukon Convention Centre.

Armstrong said she decided to push her luck and see if she could slip in, even though the clinics were for those aged 70 years and older.

“This (Friday) morning, seeing that there were so many (>55) vacant appointments for vaccination today. I went to do my part and help the territory get to 70 per cent vaccination faster,” Armstrong wrote in an email.

“I presume that for each time slot, there is actually more than one actual vaccination slot, because there is more than one nurse working each slot.

“I arrived at 8:15, knowing there was an empty slot at 8:25 (and every ten minutes thereafter for many hours).

“I was turned away because I am 51, despite the fact that the clinic appears to have many, many nurses sitting idle, holding full vaccine vials, not vaccinating people all day today, as well as next week, not to mention the fact that the clinic takes weekends off.”

Unsurprisingly, Armstrong said she was turned away and shooed out of the clinic.

“To add insult to injury, as a nurse was turning me away and explaining that it is more important to go in order of priority than it is to achieve herd immunity, a manager came to the front atrium to tell the check-in staff, ‘It looks like it’s going to be a slow day.’ ”

That didn’t sit well with Armstrong.

“Unless there is a shortage of doses that needs to be rationed – which I have been assured is not true – there must be no slow days as we vaccinate,” she said.

“How much does it cost our economy and how much disruption to personal lives does every day below herd immunity create?” Armstrong said. 

“Vaccination is not a zero sum game. Every single person that gets vaccinated is of benefit to every other person in the territory. This vaccination program lacks the necessary urgency,” she added. 

“We should have priority registration for vulnerable and/or priority people to make appointments, but then there should be a line up out the door every day.

“If we are not turning people away every day and maxing-out our daily capacity to vaccinate in Whitehorse, then we are not taking this seriously – or doing our best.”

Armstrong’s comments were echoed by Val Hodgson – who was also turned away from the quiet clinic.

“It’s abominable. It’s outrageous,” Hodgson told the Star early this afternoon.

She will turn 70 later this year, and is furious she couldn’t receive a vaccine from a clinic that was mostly empty.

“They have so many vaccines sitting in a freezer, where they’re useless,” Hodgson pointed out. “They are only useful when they are in someone’s arm.

“Every dose is a shot against COVID.”

Hodgson said she waited for 15 minutes to watch how busy the clinic was. In that time, she said, she saw just three people enter for their shots.

“They’re doing a great job in the communities, and they’ve got a fabulous clinic here, but it’s mostly empty,” Hodgson said. “And the staff are sitting there too, waiting for someone to come in.

“Let’s get Whitehorse vaccinated!”

Another person the Star interviewed this morning, who asked to remain anonymous, had similar concerns.

He questioned why so many booking slots remain available in the Whitehorse clinic.

As with Armstrong and Hodgson, he said he had counted more than 50 unused spots available today. Most of next week is also open, he said.

He added it’s absolutely ridiculous the clinics aren’t open on weekends.

“When are people who work supposed to go?” he asked.

The man also questioned what the government is doing with vaccines that had been prepared for the day.

“I hope we’re not wasting any doses,” he said.

As reported on p. 2 of today’s Star, Premier Sandy Silver and Dr. Brendan Hanley said Wednesday they believe things are running smoothly.

This morning, Pat Living, a communications manager with the government, responded to the Star’s inquiries via email.

“The vaccine clinics have been very carefully planned in such a way as to provide protection to the most vulnerable first,” Living wrote.

“This week we are vaccinating rural communities and other congregate vulnerable populations concurrently with the convention centre.

“The greatest risk factor for COVID 19 is age and we are starting with the 70+. We will open clinic spots as we move along and have determined that a good segment of each population has been able to access clinics if they wish.

“This decision to open up further is also related to the current supply of vaccine within the territory,” Living added.

“We are not open to individuals who do not fit the specified criteria for this week and individuals who do not fit the criteria will be turned away. The clinic opens to the general public on Feb. 10. It will open to those 60+ on Feb. 1.”

Living did not comment on the issue of appointments going unfilled.

The Yukon Party did.

“This is an issue that has recently come to our attention from several constituents,” party officials said.

“We wrote to the minister of Health (Pauline Frost) last week seeking clarity on this. Despite us reaching out a week ago on this urgent topic, the minister has not responded or acknowledged receipt of our correspondence,” they said. 

“While we support the vaccination schedule including who is prioritized, if it is true that vaccines are available and scheduled time-slots are not being used, then the minister of Health needs to look into what can be done to ensure quicker uptake.

“Perhaps that is further outreach to Yukoners currently eligible or it is consideration of expanding eligibility so that we can continue to make progress on our roll out of vaccines.”

The official Opposition also suggested that according to the most recent statistics and the vaccination tracker run by the University of Saskatchewan, the Yukon is second-last in the country in terms of the distribution of the amount of vaccine doses it has been supplied.