Moe doubles down on goal to remove vaccination, negative test mandate

On the same day Saskatchewan hit the highest number of COVID-related hospitalizations since the pandemic started, Premier Scott Moe repeated and explained his push to end the vaccination or negative test policy that has been in place in the province since Oct. 1.

“People are asking their government for a return to normal, a removal of public health restrictions and we most certainly are looking at how we can do that in the weeks ahead here in Saskatchewan. And now I think, in fairness, it is time for us as a government to do what Saskatchewan people are asking for,” Moe told reporters Monday afternoon.

Moe said the mandate was put in place with two goals: Convincing more people to get vaccinated, and reducing the spread of COVID. He said it was effective on both counts with the Delta variant but no longer with Omicron.

“In light of the Omicron wave that we are facing, it is incumbent on us to adapt, as it’s quite obvious that the virus itself has adapted,” said Moe.

Pointing to numbers for the last week which has shown nearly 80 per cent of all new recorded COVID infections were in people who were double vaccinated, Moe claimed the vaccine was no longer protecting against infection and therefore the mandate has run its course.

“The bottom line of all of this is that vaccines do work but they are no longer working at preventing transmission in this wave of COVID-19,” said Moe.

Earlier today, @PremierScottMoe posted a letter. In it, he stated:

– Being vaccinated DOES NOT prevent one from contracting #COVID19
– Vaccines are NOT reducing transmission of #COVID19

Both statements are FALSE & should be corrected ASAP for the record. Thank you.

🧵 (/1) pic.twitter.com/pdypB0dVsU

— Dr. Alexander Wong (@awong37) January 29, 2022

NDP Leader Ryan Meili spoke out against Moe’s comments later in the day.

“The idea that the vaccines don’t work against Omicron that he is trying to spread, it’s untrue and it’s dangerous,” Meili said. “He’s discouraging people from getting the vaccine by saying this.”

When confronted with the fact many medical experts disagree with his interpretation of the numbers, Moe simply said he’s going by the data.

“It doesn’t appear to be reducing transmission with respect to the Omicron wave that we have here today and for anyone to say different is, quite frankly, not the case,” he said.

The numbers Moe quoted are taken from the reported results in Saskatchewan of publicly provided PCR tests and don’t include mostly unreported home rapid tests, which most residents in the province have been encouraged to rely on without a PCR confirmation.

Moe said his goal is to bring forward the end of the mandate to happen sooner than Feb. 28, the day it would expire anyway if not renewed.

“Ultimately, our goal is to move and move in as expedient a fashion as we can, but also be responsible with the actions that we are taking and ensuring that Saskatchewan people continue to have access to the tools that are keeping them safe,” said Moe.

When asked why the mandate wasn’t ended immediately if it wasn’t doing anything, Moe talked about different metrics his government was continuing to watch.

The premier said his government hadn’t made a decision on the mask mandate yet but that it would be looked at.

Moe did make a point of saying that this trajectory could change if the COVID situation in the province gets worse.

“Everything that I am saying is precursed by the fact, if our environment changes with COVID, we may have to revisit some of what we’re discussing here today,” said Moe.

When asked whether the province’s chief medical health officer agreed with this approach, Moe said he’d had lots of conversations with Dr. Saqib Shahab but that Moe wouldn’t speak for Shahab.