Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab and Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone provided the latest COVID-19 update in a general briefing on February 25.

Livingstone’s three-pronged message addressed vaccine delivery, rapid testing kit deployment, and the concern over the presence of COVID variants in the province.

Livingstone acknowledged that the smooth delivery of vaccines continues to be hampered by sporadic availability in spite of logistical improvements the Health Authority has made. The inclusion of clinics and mobile test units in rural areas meant that many of the 4,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine received at the beginning of the week headed to rural and northern areas. The official on-boarding of pharmacists is also expected to pave the way for smoother delivery, especially in phase 2, but only if the supply increases.

Livingstone addressed some concerns around contacting 70 year old plus vaccine candidates in phase 1. To date, he said, the SHA is making an effort to personally contact those eligible independent-living residents. However, priority of dispersion in any area has seen available doses go to long term care residents and prioritized health care workers, meaning the doses run out. Contact thus far has been made with the oldest eligible candidates in an area and then descends down the list according to years. 

“Please note the appointment availability is driven by vaccine availability,” advised Livingstone, “At this time, there isn’t a clinic in the province that is available to receive enough vaccine to immunize all residents eligible in phase 1.”

Looking into phase 2, Livingstone highlighted some changes to the contact process once those

60 years and older become eligible. 

“We will be moving to a system where residents will be able to contact us and choose their vaccination site and time, which will greatly improve the process,” explained Livingstone. However, he predicted the phase 2 rollout would continue to be hampered by a limited vaccine supply unless other suppliers are approved to come on line. 

Livingstone stressed that testing continues to be a cornerstone of the SHA’s strategy in managing the virus. In recent days, low numbers of new cases reported have gone hand in hand with lower numbers of tests. To keep test numbers are peak levels, Livingstone announced the deployment of additional rapid testing kits to a variety of sites. The kits have been approved for use outside of a lab setting which will make availability of testing more widespread. More than 700,000 rapid test kits will be made available in the province from the federal allocation

“Some of the new sites that will be included in the expansion will be personal care homes, group homes, detox facilities, emergency shelters, and schools,” confirmed Livingstone. “Rapid tests will also be made available to ambulance, police, and fire services, as well as pharmacies and dental offices for staff who work within those areas.” A request for tender is being developed to provide third party support for administering rapid tests to those locations who need assistance.

Both Dr. Shahab and Mr. Livingstone expressed concern over the possible spread of the new and more communicable variants. The major concern is an exponential growth in case numbers once again if the variants take a foothold in Saskatchewan communities.

“In the days ahead, we are going to need to maintain or vigilance and monitor this trend very closely. We’re not out of the woods yet, and we can’t take our foot off the gas with respect to adhering to public health orders and ensuring we keep everyone safe as we move through the vaccination program.”