Vaccine shortages throw province’s plan off track, minister says

Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman told a Commons standing committee Monday the province’s vaccine shipment for Feb. 8 will only be a third of what was originally promised.

The shortages from Pfizer and Moderna throw a wrench into the province’s vaccination plans.

“Phase 2 of the vaccine delivery plan is expected to begin in April. This will be the beginning of our mass immunization. However, these plans are in jeopardy now,” Merriman said.

Before getting to widespread access, the province still needs to get through Phase 1.

Merriman said before the two drug companies announced there would be shortages, the province was expecting to get enough doses to fully immunize half of its Priority 1 population, which includes people like health-care workers, long-term care residents and vulnerable populations.

“Now, completing first and second doses for our priority population is becoming challenging. Simply put, Saskatchewan will not be able to vaccinate as many people as originally planned,” Merriman said.

The province’s plan estimated 202,052 doses from both vaccines in the first quarter of 2021. It appears far fewer are set to arrive.

“Our priority population is about 190,000 people, which includes health-care workers (and) seniors,” Merriman said.

“We’re projected to only get about 110,000 of those vaccines by the end of March.”

To date, health-care workers have administered 108 per cent of the province’s vaccine supply. They achieved that number by drawing additional doses from vials already in their possession.

The province is opposed to Pfizer’s request to relabel the vials to say they include six doses instead of five, an act that would allow the drugmaker to fulfil its contract with Canada while delivering fewer vials.

Merriman said health-care workers have only been successful drawing the sixth dose roughly half the time.

“This should be viewed as an added benefit, not the standard for counting the number of doses,” he said.

MP Michelle Rempel-Garner asked the minister about special syringes used to extract the additional dose.

“Has the federal government supplied you with that on the assumption that there’s going to be a six-dose requirement?” asked Rempel-Garner.

Merriman said the province has been told they are on the way.

“We’re hoping this week but we’ll wait until they actually arrive,” he said.