Sask. to make second COVID booster doses available to 18+ Monday

Saskatchewan is set to expand eligibility for second COVID-19 booster shots.

Starting Monday, everyone 18 and over can get a second booster (and fourth shot overall) as long as four months have passed since their first booster. Previously, only those 50 and over were eligible.

Access to the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s public booking system was to open Friday, with vaccination clinics to open Monday.

Appointments also are available through Indigenous Services Canada and the Northern Inter-tribal Health Authority, as well as at participating pharmacies. Walk-in clinics also are to be available.

Bookings can be made online, or by calling 1-833-727-5829.

“COVID-19 is still circulating in Saskatchewan and in other jurisdictions, which is why our province is expanding access,” Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, said in a media release.

“All COVID-19 vaccines approved in Canada have been deemed safe and our preliminary data shows that a second booster provides additional protection.”

The government’s media release noted that immunity has been shown to wane over time, and boosters “provide increased protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death.”

Children between the ages of six months and five years can receive pediatric COVID vaccinations in the province. Everyone five and over is eligible to get their first two doses, and those 12 and over are eligible for a third dose (their first booster) provided four months have elapsed since their second dose.