(File photo, Canadian Press).

By paNOW Staff

COVID-19 vaccine roll out

Province releases COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Plan, vaccines to start on Dec. 15

Dec 9, 2020 | 11:31 AM

On Wednesday, Saskatchewan released its COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Plan, and inoculations are expected to begin by Dec. 15.

Pilot phase

On that date, Saskatchewan’s Phased Approach will begin with a pilot phase of 1,950 doses of the Pfizer ultra-frozen vaccine to be administered at the Regina General Hospital.

The Pfizer vaccine must be stored at -70 degrees Celsius. Dr. Tania Diener, Medical Health Officer for Regina,

“It’s very complex and we want to make sure that we do everything 100 per cent, because we do not want to waste one dose,” Dr. Diener said.

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Phase 1

For Phase 1, another 202,052 doses will be planned to be dispensed to “priority populations” like long-term care residents and staff, health workers in emergency departments, and the elderly. That is expected to take place in late December.

For age-specific prioritizations, that may differ in select parts of the province, particularily in Indigenous populations in the Far North.

“For the Far North, it may be at a lower age,” Saskatchewan Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said. “We are in discussions with maybe 50-and-older for the Far North Indigenous populations.”

Pfizer vaccine approved

Canada’s health regulator has approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Health Canada posted on it is website Wednesday that the vaccine made by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech is authorized. Canada is set to receive up to 249,000 doses this month and four million doses of the vaccine by March. The Canadian government has purchased 20 million doses of that vaccine, which requires people to receive two doses each, and it has the option to buy 56 million more. Health Canada is reviewing three other vaccine candidates, including one from Moderna.

Although the Moderna vaccine has not yet been approved in Canada, it will likely be better suited to use in the North as Pfizer’s vaccine has limitations – because of its ultra low temperature requirement – when it comes to transportation and storage.

“[Pfizer’s vaccine] is not ideal to be used in a more remote location, so I do agree that the Moderna one would be better for transportation for those communities,” Dr. Diener said.

Phase 2

In April, Phase 2 is expected to roll out in Saskatchewan and continue to administer vaccines to priority populations and the general public.

“Residents of this province can rest assured that our government will dedicate all the resources needed to provide them with the vaccine,” Health Minister Paul Merriman said in a release. “We are putting in place the human and financial resources to successfully distribute vaccines and get Saskatchewan residents immunized against COVID-19.”

“Once mass immunization has occurred, we will all be able to get closer to our normal routines,” Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said. “But in the meantime, everyone must continue following the basic advice – frequent hand-washing, physical distancing, masking, and staying home if you have symptoms, and closely following public health orders.”

Plans are in progress around the safe storage of vaccines, sequenced distribution across the province, public communication of vaccine availability, contingency planning, and statistical reporting of vaccines administered.

Also included in the Vaccine Delivery Plan is information regarding a significant public relations campaign to ensure accurate and timely information is provided to the people of Saskatchewan.

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—With files from Canadian Press

panews@jpbg.ca

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