Less than a day after launching the new COVID-19 vaccine appointment booking system, the Saskatchewan Health Authority has announced that booking eligibility is expanding to include residents aged 80 years and older, beginning on March 12 at 8 a.m.
The online and telephone booking system became available on March 11, with vaccine appointments open to residents age 85 and older to book.
As of 2 p.m. that day, the SHA reported that 3,836 appointments had already been booked by individuals across Saskatchewan. Of those bookings, 2,898 or 76 per cent were made online and 938 or 25 per cent were made over the phone with the Vaccine Call Centre.
The average wait time on the phone was about 126 minutes, said a press release, for individuals on the line or waiting for a call-back.
The SHA also said that the Vaccine Call Centre received a total of 4,524 phone calls, with many of those from callers who were ineligible to book vaccine appointments, wanting to confirm an already existing appointment, or seeking general information about vaccines.
Residents are reminded that the online and phone booking system is only available to eligible individuals in the 80+ years range who are booking an appointment for their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The availability of vaccine appointments is also currently dependant on vaccine availability, and current demand for vaccines outweighs the province’s supplies at this time.
For more information on vaccine delivery in Saskatchewan, visit saskatchewan.ca/COVID19-vaccine.
