Saskatchewan is getting the first vaccine for COVID-19 a little earlier than expected, and will be getting more than expected, according to Premier Scott Moe.
In an all-hands on deck presentation, Moe was joined by Minister of Health Paul Merriman, Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone and chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab in releasing Saskatchewan’s vaccination plan Wednesday at the Legislature.
Moe noted that just minutes before, Health Canada approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, the first to be approved in Canada. It will be the first one distributed, in a pilot project starting with health care workers at the Regina General Hospital.
“Now we expect to begin receiving those vaccines, more quickly than we had originally anticipated, and receiving them in slightly greater quantities than we had originally anticipated,” Moe said.
“Our vaccine delivery plan will start with a pilot program of 1,950 doses expected to be delivered by December the 15th. These very first and early doses will be delivered to and administered at the Regina General Hospital. Health care workers providing direct care to COVID-19 patients are going to receive those first doses.
“We then expect Phase 1 of the vaccine delivery plan to begin later in December, with Pfizer expected to deliver 10,725 doses per week. We also now expect Moderna to begin delivering vaccines very early in 2021.”
The Pfizer vaccine requires ultra low freezing, with storage in freezers that are -70 C. This greatly complicates matters, and as such, its implementation will largely mean people will have to go to where it is available, as opposed to the vaccine going to them. But with the other vaccines on the way, including the Moderna vaccine, there is much more flexibility expected, including much broader distribution where people live and work.
There is a phased distribution approach planned, first focusing on those who look after the most vulnerable, then the most vulnerable themselves.
The pilot will start with health care workers in intensive care units (ICUs), emergency departments and COVID-19 units at the Regina General Hospital and Pasqua Hospital. Testing and assessment centres will also be included. A booster shot will be done 21 days later (28 days for those getting the Moderna vaccine in later phases).
The Regina General Hospital pilot will be followed by Phase 1, which is expected to begin late December of this year. It will feature targeted immunization of priority populations, with planned administration of 202,052 doses, enough for 101,026 people.
This phase will initially target 30,584 long-term care and personal care home residents and staff.
Next will be health care workers in emergency departments, ICUs, COVID-19 testing and assessment staff – those in the health care system the most exposed to people who may have the virus. This is expected to encompass 10,000 to 15,000 people.
The third part will start with the 51,302 Saskatchewan residents aged 80 and older in all communities. Dr. Shahab explained this will be followed by progressively younger age groups, going down in cohorts of five years. The next will be the 32,474 people between ages 75 and 79, followed by the 47,343 people between 70 and 74.
People over the age of 50 living in remote areas and northern Saskatchewan will total 8,911. Phase 1 is projected to immunize up to 185,624 people.
“Hopefully by February, March, April, we'll see the benefits of vaccine protecting, to some extent the most vulnerable,” Shahab said.
Phase 2 is expected to begin in April 2021, continuing with the priority populations and widespread access to immunization for the general population. It will see mass immunization clinics, similar to what is done with the influenza vaccines and what took place with the H1N1 vaccine. Livingstone noted that there is the ability to scale up if more vaccine becomes available.
Shahab said that people 50 and older with comorbidities and then people younger than 50 with comorbidities would be prioritized.
Dr. Tania Diener, SHA medical health officer for immunization, explained the province has “already determined how many people, more or less, fit into each of these cohort groups, so that we can be clear when to move on to the next, depending on how much vaccine we will receive from the company or companies at the time.”
There will be a broad communications strategy emphasizing the importance of the vaccine. The media and government website will be used to let most people know when their cohort is due, with long-term care and personal care home residences and frontline health care workers being dealt with through other channels. Starting this month, the campaign will include print, TV, radio, digital, social, billboard, etc., focusing on providing accurate, timely information and increasing public awareness of the COVID‐19 vaccine.
Shahab said, “By April, May, June, we'll see more people at risk getting vaccinated. And then of course later in the summer and into the fall, all of us will be able to get vaccinated. And that is the way we will come out of this pandemic.”
Merriman said, “Saskatchewan has an extremely strong program … participation rate for infant and childhood vaccines. With uptake of around 90 per cent for many of these various vaccines.”
For those who are nervous about the vaccine, Shahab said, “The vaccine is really good news. We can’t underestimate how good of news that is and what a remarkable achievement it is, to have a vaccine 10 months into a pandemic.”
Vaccination will be voluntary. Individuals who receive COVID‐19 vaccine will receive a record of first and second vaccination. As for whether that might be required for certain forms of travel, as Ontario has suggested, Shahab said he couldn’t really comment now, but some of that is federal jurisdiction. Many countries require testing before boarding a flight, for instances.
“I think a lot of that will evolve as we understand the efficacy of the vaccine, but also the impact it has on COVID transmission probably nationally and provincially,” he said.
Moe said, “This is how life will get back to normal. Once we have delivered a safe and effective vaccine to a significant portion of Saskatchewan population, just like everything else when it comes to fighting COVID. We all have a role to play.”
The federal government’s job is to approve a vaccine and get it out. The province’s job is to ensure the health system has the resources to deliver the vaccine, and the health system needs to deliver it to the people of the province, as swiftly, as safely and as effectively as possible, Moe said.
“Each of you have a job as well. And your job, the people of Saskatchewan’s job, is to get the vaccine when it is your turn to do so. We all need to do this. Just like we all need to follow the public health orders and the guidelines that are in place to keep ourselves and to keep others safe. We all need to get vaccinated. To keep ourselves, and keep others safe, even if you aren't worried about contracting the virus yourself, and look for those around you. Do it for our seniors, our parents and our grandparents, who are the most vulnerable to very serious outcomes from COVID-19. Do it for our health care workers in our long-term care homes in our hospitals. Do it for our teachers and our students throughout this province, in our schools.
“We all need to get vaccinated, not just for ourselves, but for those around us,” he said.
