(File Photo/The Canadian Press)

By Alison Sandstrom

COVID-19

Saskatchewan unveils more information on vaccination plan

Feb 9, 2021 | 5:53 PM

As Saskatchewan awaits more shipments of COVID-19 vaccine, the province has released more information on its vaccine delivery plan including more drive-thru centres across the region.

Saskatchewan hopes to begin Phase 2 of the plan – which will see the general public receive the jab in 10-year increments starting with ages 60 to 69 – in April.

Staff and residents of emergency shelters and group homes for people with intellectual disabilities will be vaccinated at the same time as those aged 60-69. People who are deemed “clinically extremely vulnerable,” like those with severe respiratory conditions and some cancers will also be prioritized.

Phase 1 is currently underway for high-risk populations, such as people of advanced age, residents and staff in long-term and personal care homes, health care workers in emergency departments, COVID-19 units, testing and assessment centres, intensive care units and other high-risk settings. This phase also includes residents over 50 living in northern remote communities and those over 70 in all communities.

Only about 12 per cent of the estimated 190,000 people identified as Phase 1 have been fully vaccinated, health minister Paul Merriman said during a press conference in Regina on Tuesday. The federal government has assured Saskatchewan vaccine shipments will pick-up starting next week and continue to increase into March.

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“Saskatchewan is ready for this,” Merriman said. “We just need some more vaccines and they can’t get here soon enough.”

The province is planning for various modes of vaccine delivery in Phase 2, including mass immunization clinics, walk-in and drive-thru clinics, public health clinics and community-based options such as pharmacies.

Prince Albert, Melfort, North Battleford and Meadow Lake are among the communities set to get drive-thru vaccination centres in addition to mass immunization clinics and mobile clinics.

Planned vaccination clinics in Northern Saskatchewan. Community clinics, including pharmacies and First Nations clinics, are not shown on this map. (Government of Saskatchewan)

New booking system

More information on online booking, including a completely separate phone line for this purpose will be made available soon.

On Monday ahead of the vaccine delivery plan announcement, NDP health critic Vicki Mowat called for improved communications to elderly and vulnerable communities eligible for vaccinations in Phase 1, among other recommendations.

“Presently many are trying to find and make sense of haphazard releases, reports and PSAs,” Mowat said in a letter to Merriman.

SHA CEO Scott Livingstone appeared to address these concerns during the press conference, saying the SHA is trying to contact people aged 70-plus living independently directly when possible to book their vaccination appointments. When direct contact is not possible, local and social media is used, he continued.

“We know people want information,” Livingstone said. “We’ll be working hard to communicate when it’s your time to be vaccinated.”

Teachers Federation disappointed

Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) says it is disappointed the vaccine rollout plan does not include any priority access for teachers and school staff.

In a Tuesday media release, STF president Patrick Maze criticized last year’s government response as “disjointed and reactionary,” and called on the government and school boards to provide information on response plans to address new, more contagious variants; gather reliable data on in-school transmission; and implement rapid widespread testing of school communities.

Maze added, in part, that providing priority vaccine access to adults working in schools would go a long way to increasing the confidence of teachers and all school staff who want to be vaccinated.

Editor’s note: this story was amended to correct erroneous information initially given by the Ministry of Health. Appointments cannot be booked through HealthLine 811 and the public is asked not to use that line for that purpose. More information on online booking, including a completely separate phone line for this purpose will be made available soon.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom