Premier Scott Moe said in a press conference today that Saskatchewan will be receiving and administering the first group of COVID-19 vaccine doses as early as next week.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority confirmed it will be receiving vaccines from Pfizer, recently approved for use by Health Canada, with an unconfirmed deal to also receive weekly vaccine deliveries from Moderna.
Moe was joined by SHA CEO Scott Livingstone and chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab to outline the province’s phased Vaccine Delivery Plan.
“There is a phased approach to our plan of vaccine delivery. We do have a long history of immunization in Saskatchewan and were going to use that infrastructure as the backbone to start out COVID vaccination program,” said Livingstone. “The goal is for all residents in Sask to receive vaccine where they live or where they work, similar to how we deliver our flu vaccine.”
Both Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines have been approved by Health Canada and are equally effective, said Livingstone. They also require two doses to be properly effective, with the second booster dose to be administered 21 to 28 days after the first immunization.
Shahab confirmed that the COVID-19 vaccine is a voluntary immunization at this time, and the current delivery plan will depend on the availability of vaccines from both manufacturers.
“We have done very in Saskatchewan with the voluntary vaccination program,” said Shahab.
Health Canada is expected to provide daily updates on the availability of vaccine doses, said Livingstone, and a vaccine committee will continue to adjust the plan as needed.
Livingstone also said that staff training is already underway to prepare for vaccine delivery, and the SHA has purchased additional freezer units to provide safe storage and delivery of the vaccine.
Delivery sites for the vaccine may remain limited for now, due to the complicated needs of the Pfizer vaccine, said officials. The Moderna vaccine is more mobile and once approved, will be better suited to immunization in remote areas.
The Vaccine Delivery Plan
The first delivery of 1,950 vaccine doses from Pfizer is expected by Dec. 15, to begin the province’s immunization program.
The doses will be first administered in a pilot phase, as a planned immunization of health care workers from both Pasqua Hospital and Regina General Hospital. This includes staff working in ICUs, emergency departments and COVID units as well as staff at testing and assessment centres. This phase will be administered at Regina General Hospital.
Phase One will follow later in December, focusing on priority populations within the province. A total of 202,052 doses are expected to be delivered during this phase, including a weekly provision of 10,725 vaccines from Pfizer.
The priority in Phase One will be staff and residents at long-term care homes, followed by the remaining health care workers not included in the pilot.
This phase will also focus on older residents, beginning with those 80 years or older and working down, and residents over the age of 50 living in remote locations or in northern Saskatchewan. Booster shots for those in the pilot phase will also be administered during this phase.
Phase Two is expected to occur in April, continuing with delivering vaccines to vulnerable populations from Phase One before becoming available to the general population.
This phase will occur in much the same way as other immunization programs from the SHA, offered using public health clinics and from nurse practitioners and pharmacists as supplies allow.
Depending on the availability of vaccines, this phase may be executed in a priority order, with more information to be shared closer to implementation.
To read the full details of the Vaccine Delivery Plan, visit saskatchewan.ca/COVID19.
