The extraordinary developments of this past week have shocked many as the Saskatchewan government struggles to handle case numbers that have overwhelmed the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA). It has become necessary for SHA to request aid from any source which is not itself overwhelmed. This includes other provinces, US states, and the federal government, which has sent a military response.
MLA Tim McLeod, who represents Moose Jaw North, had the following to say in response to a MooseJawToday.com request for comment:
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the primary goal of the Saskatchewan Government was to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus until a vaccine was available. This would protect the integrity of our healthcare system by minimizing the number of people who require treatment in our hospitals and ICUs.
Unfortunately, our hospitals and specifically our ICUs have now become overwhelmed with mostly unvaccinated patients suffering from COVID-19, even though a vaccine is safe and readily available. To deal with this reality, we have requested assistance from several other jurisdictions through our emergency measures partnerships. We have also requested ICU supports such as respiratory nurses and perfusionists from the federal government.
The vast majority of the COVID-19 patients filling our hospitals and ICUs are unvaccinated. Between 70-80% of them in fact. The Delta variant is now attacking younger, stronger people, making the need to be vaccinated greater than ever.
The vaccine is not a perfect defence to the COVID-19 virus, but it is the best defence we have at this time. We know that some vaccinated individuals will still contract the virus and may even end up needing medical care too; however the number of vaccinated people who will require care is low enough, and the length of their hospitalizations are typically brief enough, that our healthcare system could manage if that’s all there was.
This is why we hear phrases like “a pandemic of the unvaccinated.” It is not to cast blame but rather to recognize that the vast majority of deaths and serious illness - often resulting in lengthy hospital and ICU stays - are in those who remain unvaccinated. Getting vaccinated means you are 6 times less likely to catch COVID-19; 13 times less likely to be hospitalized for it; and 28 times less likely to end up in an ICU because of it compared to someone who is unvaccinated.
We can acknowledge that differences of opinion exist, but we can’t ignore the obvious benefits the vaccine is providing to address the problem when only a fraction of our deaths and hospitalizations are vaccinated individuals. Other treatments and prophylactics are being investigated, but right now the vaccine remains our best defence against the virus. Therefore, stressing the need for widespread vaccination and putting public health orders in place is not judging the unvaccinated and is not about punishing people for their choice. The simple fact is that we cannot sustain the increased pressure on our healthcare system being caused primarily by unvaccinated people, so the government has to take measures to reduce those pressures.
The current Public Health Orders are unpleasant. None of us enjoy them. The Government of Saskatchewan did not want to have to reinstate any form of restrictions. But we cannot allow our healthcare system to collapse under the pressure of COVID-19 patients, especially when we have a vaccine that we know is helping to keep people alive and out of the hospitals. And once again, that is the primary goal as we work through this pandemic.
I understand some employers, including the City of Moose Jaw, have made the decision to pay for their employees COVID-19 tests if they are unvaccinated. The provincial government has decided against using tax-payer’s dollars for this purpose; vaccines are the best option we have to protect ourselves and others, and they are free to every citizen.
A number of people have referred to this pandemic as “a war against Covid.” If that’s true, one of the casualties of that war has been civility, so let’s put an end to the shaming and finger pointing. Let’s stop attacking the store clerks and restaurant servers and other frontline staff who are just doing their jobs by asking each of us to follow the rules that are in place to support our healthcare system.
Moose Jaw residents wishing to get in touch with their local MLA can find Tim McLeod’s contact information here.
