The recent announcement that Pfizer will be unable to provide its promised shipment of COVID-19 vaccinations could press pause on Saskatchewan’s vaccine rollout, said Premier Scott Moe on Jan. 19.
Moe, joined by chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab and Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone, made an update on the vaccine delivery numbers during a live stream press conference.
Saskatchewan’s vaccine rollout plan is currently still in the first phases, with a focus on immunizing residents and staff in long term care homes and residents over the age of 70.
Moe reported that an estimated 15,000 vaccinations were completed province-wide last week, with Saskatchewan providing the second-highest number of vaccinations per capita in the country.
However, an interruption at Pfizer’s production lines means the company will be slowing down its delivery of vaccines over the next four weeks, which Moe said could significantly affect the rate of vaccination.
The province is now expecting to receive 11,700 doses each week through the month of February and had previously adjusted the vaccine delivery plan to reflect those deliveries.
Updated information is now revealing that Canada is not expected to receive any vaccines from Pfizer for the week of Jan. 25, and a total of only 17,500 doses from Pfizer are expected over the next four weeks — a large decrease from the 35,000 promised.
Moe said that the short-term delivery plan will have to be adjusted once again in the wake of these changes.
“At the pace we are going and with the slowdown in deliveries from Pfizer, we expect that Saskatchewan will run out of vaccines over the course of the next few days,” said Moe. “So we are in the process of seeking clarification if that will further impact Saskatchewan’s total supply of vaccines over the course of the next four weeks.”
A delivery of 2,925 vaccines from Pfizer will still arrive this week and be distributed to Regina, Fort Qu’Appelle and North Battleford areas to continue vaccinating priority populations.
The delay in vaccine delivery will likely also affect individuals in need of their second dose of the vaccine. Shahab said that the health authority is not concerned as of yet, as experts say the second dose can be administered effectively up to 42 days after the initial dose.
Moe called on the federal government to offer support in procuring more vaccines, to offset the delivery disruption.
“We need the federal government to pick up the pace of vaccine deliveries in the weeks ahead, and pick up the pace of their negotiations and discussions with Pfizer in particular,” said Moe.
There were no further public health restrictions announced during the conference, but Shahab once again reiterated that residents need to comply with the current restrictions as case numbers are continuing to climb.
“It is a difficult situation because we continue to be stuck in this 300 [daily cases] range, and we want to be heading down,” said Shahab.
Residents should prepare to continue working and living with the pandemic restrictions through the winter and spring, warned Shahab, as it is unlikely they will be entirely lifted before summer.
“By [summer], vaccination will have been available to the vast majority of the public, but until such time, we need to stay the course with the current measures,” said Shahab. “If we all worked at compliance today, I guarantee we would see numbers come down within a week.”
For more information on COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, visit saskatchewan.ca/COVID19.
