Eligibility changes coming to Saskatchewan vaccination rollout

More age groups are to become eligible this week to get COVID-19 vaccinations in Saskatchewan.

Starting Wednesday, those 42 and older are to become eligible, as well as anyone 30 and over in the Northern Saskatchewan Administrative District.

Starting Friday, the minimum age requirement will drop to 40 and all workers who have been prioritized — including teachers, police officers, firefighters, public health inspectors and more health-care workers — will become eligible.

“We know Saskatchewan has been leading the country in vaccination rates per capita,” Health Minister Paul Merriman said in a media release. “We are limited by our vaccine supply but as larger volumes of vaccine arrive, we are taking an aggressive approach to getting shots in the arms of as many residents as possible as quickly as possible.”

During a media conference Tuesday afternoon, Premier Scott Moe said shipments of the Pfizer vaccine to Saskatchewan are to double in May, going from around 31,500 to the neighbourhood of 63,000.

It’s unclear what the delivery schedules are for the other three vaccines approved by Health Canada — Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson — but Moe said the arrival of more Pfizer doses will make “a huge difference.”

As of Tuesday, nearly 80 per cent of Saskatchewan residents aged 60 and over have received their first doses and more than 70 per cent of those 50 and over have had their first shots.

For those who still aren’t eligible to be vaccinated, Moe offered some thoughts.

“To everyone in this province who would be under the age of 40: We are going to get you a vaccine as soon as we are able, but in the meantime, I would ask you to please be careful,” he said.

“You need to follow all the public health orders and the guidelines that are in place and that means not getting together in groups with your friends. I understand that this is difficult and I understand how difficult this has been, in particular for those in their 20s.”

Recent gatherings like the one in Maple Creek are being considered “super-spreader” events, so Moe implored younger people to follow the public health orders.

“I know this is a very social time of your life and I know you want to be with your friends,” he said. “You want to go to your university classes in person and you want to take part in all of the social activities that occur in your community. And I know what you have sacrificed over the course of this past year.

“But please know that it is just going to be a little while longer — and you could lose so much if you contract one of these variants or if you pass it along to one of your friends or to a family member.”

In terms of the groups who are to become eligible later this week, those who have been prioritized will need to have proof of employment through a letter from their employer, a paystub no older than March 1 or a copy of their professional licence.

Those appointments can be made by calling 1-833-727-5829. Those who are eligible in the new age groups can book appointments online or by phone, or can attend a drive-through or walk-in clinic.

Appointments also can be booked at pharmacies that are participating in the vaccination delivery pilot project.