Winnipeg's Mayor is calling on the COVID-19 Immunization Task Force to change its current trajectory.

In a series of three posts Tuesday, Mayor Brian Bowman advocated for three populations, saying he wants them to be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine.

"Our vaccine strategy needs to change so we can be proactive in preventing COVID transmission to those exposed and for whom we count on during emergencies," he writes in the series. "The virus has changed. Our provincial government should change its vaccine strategy to include these vulnerable groups."

 

 

First responders, essential workers, and those experiencing homelessness are at the top of the mayor's priority.

"We should be preventing the spread of variants to those most exposed."

He says workers such as teachers and bus drivers, as well as police officers and others should be proactively vaccinated. Less than one month ago, the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police called for vaccines for their workers, saying their enforcement position puts them at risk of contracting and spreading the virus.

Bowman is also drawing attention to the homeless community, a population hit hard by the virus.

"Communities outside Manitoba have been providing COVID vaccines to their unsheltered/homeless for some time. Manitoba has not."

This is not the first time Bowman has advocated for workers. Last month the Mayor called for essential workers to be prioritized in a March 11 press conference.

Currently, there are four groups of people in the vaccine rollout: General Population by age increments, healthcare workers, Priority Groups for health concerns, and First Nations.