COVID vaccine arrives in Regina; health-care workers get first doses Tuesday

Dr. Jeffrey Betcher and Leah Sawatsky rolled up their sleeves to continue the fight against COVID-19 on Tuesday evening.

Betcher, a critical care physician, and Sawatsky, an emergency room nurse, were the first two people in Saskatchewan to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.

The shots were administered at Regina’s General Hospital, where 1,950 health-care workers are to receive immunizations over the next few days as part of a pilot project to kick off Saskatchewan’s vaccination delivery plan.

“This is one step closer to seeing this through to the end,” Betcher said after receiving the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. “I feel so good about this.”

Nurse Leah Sawatsky receives the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 15, 2020. (Photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Health Authority)

Just after 3 p.m., the Saskatchewan government issued a media release saying the first doses of the vaccine had arrived in Regina. Betcher and Sawatsky got their shots in front of cameras just after 6 p.m.

“If you’re unsure about having the vaccine, I think it’s really important that you reconsider that and consider having it done,” Betcher said. “It protects not only yourself but also those around you — your family, your friends (and) those who are vulnerable.

“I think of this as just another layer of protection that not only I have but the staff around me have and those that I’m looking after have as I provide care for them.”

The pilot will see health-care workers in intensive care units, emergency departments and COVID units at the General and Pasqua hospitals as well as staff at testing and assessment centres get immunized over several days.

Those who get vaccinated will receive their second dose 21 days after the first.

“I’m really grateful for the opportunity and, just like Dr. Betcher said, it’s really important if you’re not sure to get it for yourself (and) get it for the safety of others,” Sawatsky said.

“We’re seeing people whose quality of life is getting taken away every day by COVID. It doesn’t discriminate (by) age, so trust the science.”

The Saskatchewan government laid out its vaccine distribution plan Dec. 9, the first feature of which is the pilot program. After that, the first phase is expected to start later in December and continue through the first quarter of 2021.

That phase is to focus on groups that are at a higher risk of exposure or of serious illness, including health-care workers, elderly residents in care homes, seniors over the age of 80, and residents in remote and northern communities.

The COVID caseload in Saskatchewan has been rising in recent weeks. As of Tuesday, there had been 12,432 cases in the province since March — and 98 deaths.

The province recorded seven deaths Tuesday, bringing the number since Nov. 22 to 65. That number includes 44 people aged 80 and over.

“Today (with the arrival of the vaccines) we’re really seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but the fight is not over,” Dr. Tania Diener, the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s medical director of immunization and international travel, said during Tuesday’s event.

“We still need to remain vigilant because we want to continue to save lives in Saskatchewan by applying all COVID precautions. We need to remember where exactly we are currently in the pandemic and … remember the losses we have had in this province.”

The second phase of the vaccine delivery plan is expected to begin in April and will continue with vaccinations of the so-called “priority population,” while also starting widespread vaccinations among the province’s population.

In the meantime, the provincial government is reminding people to follow public health orders and continue with basic measures like hand-washing, social distancing and wearing a mask.

Diener said she was pleased to see a doctor and a nurse get the first vaccinations given the role health-care professionals have played so far during the pandemic.

“I’m proud of (Betcher and Sawatsky) for stepping up and carrying the message that this vaccine is safe, providing public confidence in this new vaccine,” Diener said. “I’m even more proud of who they represent — the health-care providers of Saskatchewan who are on the front line every day fighting this virus.”