By Chris Brown

To arrive in Saskatoon next week

Saskatchewan ready and waiting to start vaccine delivery plan

Dec 17, 2020 | 2:57 PM

Another shipment of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is en route and is expected in Saskatoon next week, possibly on Dec. 21.

“Saskatchewan has been ready to receive and waiting to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine, as I said last week,” Health Minister Paul Merriman says, in a release. “So it was welcome news when we learned that the first shipment would arrive before the holidays. I consider this the best gift to see more health care workers in our province being immunized, and look forward to delivering it to more of the people at highest risk.”

The first step of the first phase is the initial dose of vaccination of 1,950 health-care workers in Saskatoon ICUs, emergency departments, COVID units, and testing and assessment centres will receive their initial dose of the vaccine. The second dose will be administered three to four weeks later.

Also included in Phase 1 are staff and residents of long-term care facilities, those in the 80 plus range, residents over 50 in northern and remote areas and as the supply of vaccine allows, those 70 to 79 years of age.

An immunization pilot project in Regina saw first doses given to 11 health-care workers on Dec. 15 and to another 239 health-care workers on Dec. 16. The pilot will be expanded to key frontline staff in the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and anesthetists.

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“These additional groups have been identified given they are also at higher risk of contracting COVID-19, and because of their work with at-risk patients,” says Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone. “Of course, our supplies are limited, so we will look to continue providing additional doses to these groups as more vaccine is received.”

Widespread vaccine access to begin immunization of the general population will be part of Phase 2 of the delivery plan, says the government. That is tentatively set to start in April 2021.

Visit the Saskatchewan government’s COVID-19 vaccine planning page for more information.