Sask. steering doses toward more drive-through vaccination clinics

President Joe Biden soon could be helping Saskatchewan battle COVID-19.

Premier Scott Moe said during a media conference Tuesday that Saskatchewan’s share of the 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses the United States is loaning Canada should amount to about 45,000 doses.

Those doses, Moe said, will be used to stock up drive-through vaccination clinics in the province.

“Because of the success of the Regina drive-through clinic, those doses will be used to again reopen the Regina drive-through clinic,” Moe said. “And we’ll have the opportunity then to open additional clinics in the communities of Saskatoon, in Moose Jaw and in Yorkton.

“We look forward to being able to open those as soon as we receive these vaccines.”

Moe said if the AstraZeneca shipments arrive from the U.S. in good time, it’s “highly possible” that by early April, all residents of the Regina and far north regions aged 50 and over and everyone aged 60 and over in the Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and Yorkton areas will have had access to a vaccine.

The Saskatchewan government sent 15,500 AstraZeneca doses to the Regina area due to the recent uptick of cases in the region.

On March 14, Phase 1 health-care workers were invited to Evraz Place to get a shot at a drive-through clinic. The following day, the clinic was opened to people aged 64.

Throughout the week, the clinic started accepting people from different age groups. On Monday evening, the clinic ran out of doses and was closed, albeit temporarily.

Scott Livingstone, the CEO of the Saskatchewan Health Authority, said Tuesday the response to the clinic was “overwhelming.”

“We’re looking forward to getting another allocation to be able to open up more drive-throughs as well as to accommodate the 95,000-plus appointments that have been booked already through our booking system,” he said.

“(We’re) excited about being able to roll down into younger age groups, not only just with the drive-throughs but with the booking system as we move forward.”

As of Tuesday, the SHA was accepting online or phone bookings for anyone in the province aged 67 or older. The system launched March 10, when people aged 85 and over could book appointments. The age of eligibility has dropped in the two weeks since.

According to the provincial government, 149,209 shots had been given as of Monday — 99 per cent of the 150,755 doses that had been delivered to the province.

Moe said 36,000 Pfizer doses were to arrive in Saskatchewan on Tuesday, the largest shipment of that vaccine to date. Those doses are to be distributed in Regina, Saskatoon and Yorkton to those who had booked appointments.

The next shipment of the Moderna vaccine is expected in the province later this week.

“We are seeing a very high uptake in the age groups that are eligible to be vaccinated so far and that is a very positive indicator …,” said Moe, who once again urged residents to get immunized when they were eligible.

“(COVID vaccinations) are the way that we are going to be able to lift the public health orders and have things get back to normal at some point here in Saskatchewan.”