Inadequate Healthcare and COVID Vaccine Hesitancy Among Indigenous Communities in Canada
As of November 1st, Indigenous Services Canada (ICS) reported 47,078 positive COVID cases on First Nation reserves. COVID fatalities among Indigenous communities living on reserves make up 59% of the total case fatality rate in the general Canadian population, despite Indigenous peoples making up only 4.9% of the total Canadian population. Besides suffering from the virus itself, Indigenous communities in Canada also endure the devastating effects that COVID-19 has had on society. 36% of Indigenous Canadians reported that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented them from meeting essential financial needs, as opposed to 25% of non-Indigenous Canadians. While the Canadian government is working to prioritize COVID-19 vaccine rollout to Indigenous communities, some Indigenous peoples have expressed hesitancy and even opposition to the vaccine. The Cree nation began vaccinating their residents with 1,200 initial doses of the COVID vaccine in early January 2021, though Matthew Coon Come, the former grand chief of the Cree Nation of Mistissini in Quebec, has condemned his community’s use of the Moderna vaccine.
Fears associated with the vaccine can be traced to documented incidents of unethical medical experimentation on Indigenous people, including a 12-year trial of an experimental tuberculosis vaccine on “Cree and Nakoda Oyadebi infants in Saskatchewan during the 1930’s and 1940’s.” Additionally, Canada’s racially segregated “Indian Hospitals'' subjected Indigenous peoples to various non-consensual surgical and drug treatments. Although nonconsensual medical experimentation is scarce today, Indigenous peoples still experience substantial amounts of discrimination. Our Health Counts Toronto (OHCT) published a study in 2019 linking discrimination in health care to an imbalance in health care access for Indigenous Canadians, indicating the need for “Indigenous cultural safety training for Canadian health care providers.” The study found that 23.7% of Indigenous participants have reported unmet health concerns in the past year, 28.5% of participants experienced discrimination from a health care worker, and 63.1% of participants reported that they have no access to a regular health care provider. A health care provider's implicit biases can interfere with their ability to provide proper healthcare to patients. The discrimination that Indigenous patients receive from health care workers can contribute to their hesitancy to receive treatment for illnesses, including the COVID-19 vaccine.
Along with history of medical mistreatment, a lack of scientific education also contributes to the irresolution towards the vaccine. A study conducted by the University of Saskatchewan found that 13.3% percent of participants, who are Saskatchewan residents, were unsure about receiving a vaccine, and 10.56% refused to be vaccinated. Those who expressed hesitancy towards the vaccine tended to have lower education levels and greater financial insecurity than those who did not express concern about the vaccine. Those who were hesitant about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine tended to share two common beliefs: they neither felt that COVID-19 posed a threat to their community, nor did they feel that they were at risk of contracting and spreading the virus.
Fortunately, various organizations in Canada are taking measures to mitigate vaccine hesitancy among Indigenous communities by providing educational and medical resources. Financial support programs, such as Indigenous Services Canada, offer scholarships and bursaries to Indigenous students to aid in educational finances. The province of Ottawa is working with the federal government to prioritize vaccinating Indigenous individuals living in the region’s urban areas. The group is specifically aiming to increase vaccine rollout to elders in the area. The BC Assembly of First Nations has launched a new campaign called “Protecting Our People” that aims to reduce vaccine hesitancy. The group released a short animation intended for Indigenous peoples explaining the functions of how the COVID vaccine works. Anishnawbe Health Toronto has been travelling through Toronto and Ontario with pop-up vaccination clinics, offering the COVID-19 vaccine to Indigenous communities inhabiting large cities, including those who are homeless. Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) is collaborating with the Assembly of First Nations to increase both the quality and accessibility of education to Indigenous students. These efforts can potentially assuage fears associated with healthcare, thus reducing hesitancy towards receiving treatment.
Eradicating discrimination towards Indigenous peoples, particularly in heath care, is arguably the most crucial key to alleviate the suffering COVID-19 has caused for Indigenous Canadians. Scientific education and vaccine rollouts will not have their desired effects on solving the issue at hand if the Indigenous communities do not fully trust the Canadian government after decades of mistreatment. Once the Indigenous communities can thoroughly count on the source providing them with care, only then can the government’s efforts entirely serve the Canadian Indigenous peoples.
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