Health authority CEO gives more clarity on vaccinations

After mixed messaging, a pivot here and there, and what one person on social media called “chaos” around COVID-19 vaccinations the last few weeks, the head of the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is trying to clear a few things up.

When it comes to vaccinations of people 70 years of age and older who aren’t in care homes, at first the province said those individuals would be contacted directly by the health authority or public health when their chance for a vaccination came up.

“Based on the vaccine supply, it was felt that this was going to be the most fair, transparent and open way to actually have people vaccinated,” Scott Livingstone, CEO of the SHA, said on Gormley on Monday.

However, after many questions and a lot of confusion, the authority decided to “pivot.”

“We know that folks are feeling that we might be missing them or that they might be missing out on their vaccination,” said Livingstone.

Last week, Livingstone made the announcement, also saying the callers had been working on information from eHealth that might not be complete.

Now, people eligible for a vaccine will still be called but within days, according to Livingstone, they’ll also be able to call a new 1-800 number that’s being set up and they’ll also be able to book an appointment online.

Livingstone said the authority didn’t want to use 811 to book appointments because it didn’t want to tie up the line and take it away from its normal business. He said the authority also didn’t want people to confuse 911 and 811 when trying to make an appointment.

At this point, Livingstone said nearly all long-term care and personal-care home residents who want to be vaccinated have been given their shots. So the program is moving on to the rest of the priority groups in Phase 1, including those 70 and over.

Livingstone said the SHA will continue to proceed by age, with the oldest being contacted first.

Livingstone pointed out again that the program is restricted by the number of vaccines available.

“If we had all the vaccine we wanted, the vaccine program would be driven by people booking their appointments instead of us restricting it based on vaccine supply,” said Livingstone.

As for those in care homes where everyone has been vaccinated, Livingstone said the authority is hoping to be able to open things up a bit, especially as spring arrives. But he cautions it’s not a health authority decision — it’s a decision that is made through public health orders.

“They’re complex decisions because, just because those individuals are vaccinated, it doesn’t mean everybody else (in care) is,” explained Livingstone.

Livingstone said there’s still some uncertainty about how the virus might move between people who are vaccinated and those who aren’t, and the threat of COVID variants could go into the decision.