Sask. government focused on pressing Ottawa for vaccination answers

The Saskatchewan government has focused on the federal government amid uncertainty about vaccine supply and questions about the rollout plan in the province.

When the calendar turned to 2021, the government began leading its daily COVID-19 news releases with the latest on vaccines administered.

The issue of vaccine supply also led Premier Scott Moe's weekly media conference this week.

"The vaccines are working. We just need to get more people vaccinated — quite a few more here in Saskatchewan — because that's the path for us out of this pandemic. That's the way that we get things back to normal," Moe said on Tuesday. 

The vaccinations in the province had "ground to a standstill here … as we have not received any vaccine shipments in over a week now," he said.

Two weeks ago, Moe agreed with Ontario Premier Doug Ford that the prime minister should light a firecracker under the CEO of pharmaceutical company Pfizer to get more vaccine shipped to Canada.

Moe said he and other premiers would "bring a lighter to that party." 

On Tuesday morning, Moe got his chance to speak to the Pfizer CEO. He said they discussed, among other things, the efficacy of the vaccines on coronavirus variants.

He said the early results are "very good."

"That is good news and I think also speaks to the importance of us continuing to have access to these vaccines and having access to these vaccines as quickly as possible."

Restrictions 'have proved to be effective': Moe

This week, Saskatchewan reported its first three cases which show the virus variant first detected in the U.K., referred to as B117.

Concerns over the more contagious coronavirus variants have not persuaded the government of Saskatchewan or the Public Health Agency of Canada to update their guidelines for the public.

When asked if there was a path to lower transmission rates while the province waits for more vaccine doses, Moe said "the measures that we have put in place have been effective in lowering the numbers that we have."

The current pandemic restrictions are likely to remain in effect until they expire on Feb. 19, Moe said.

On Tuesday, the province broke its record for COVID-19 hospitalizations, at 238. Those numbers were not available until Thursday.

On Friday, the number of new cases reached 269. Between Monday and Friday, 26 people had died after testing positive for the coronavirus.

"The numbers in Saskatchewan have been somewhat challenging as of late," Moe said Tuesday.

"But the measures that we have had in place now since early December have been increasing throughout the fall and have proved to be effective."

As of Thursday, Saskatchewan led the country in the rate of cases over the past seven days with 139 per 100,000, double its neighbours Alberta and Manitoba.

Saskatchewan had led the country in the rate of deaths over the last seven days, with four per 100,000 population. When stretched over 14 days, it is tied with Quebec, with eight per 100,000.

Saskatchewan is also not testing for variants in the province. Flagged samples are sent to Winnipeg, and results can take up to two weeks.

The government said the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory is "increasing capacity" so it can do the necessary testing for variants in Regina, but it did not provide a timeline as to when that would be complete.

Vaccinations slower than expected 

Saskatchewan's Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab has cautioned that the vaccine rollout will be slow going in the early part of 2021, due to a lack of supply, logistics and set dose amounts.

In December, the provincial government said it expected 202,052 doses within the first quarter of 2021, which included a weekly allocation of 10,725 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

As of Friday, the province had administered 38,710 doses of the vaccine, which means it needs roughly 163,000 more doses of vaccine to meet that end of March target.

Part of the reason for the slower rollout is that the manufacturers of both currently approved vaccines — Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna — are sending fewer vaccines than expected. That was highlighted when Saskatchewan and Canada were shut out of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shipments for the week of Jan. 25.

The unpredictable and unstable supply is out of the province's hands, as vaccine acquisitions and approvals are being handled solely by the federal government and Health Canada, respectively.

Both have been under scrutiny as of late.

On Thursday, the federal government said it was not sure how many Moderna vaccine doses would be arriving in Canada this month and next.

On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau doubled down on his promise to deliver six million shots by the end of March.

Canada has administered 1.2 million doses of vaccine and received 1.3 million, and now ranks 33rd worldwide for shots administered per capita.

"I want to reassure Canadians that we're on track," Trudeau said Friday.

As of Friday, Health Canada was still reviewing vaccines from AstraZeneca, Novavax and Janssen (also referred to as the Johnson and Johnson vaccine).

The two vaccines currently in use were approved two months after application. AstraZeneca applied on Oct. 10, Janssen on Nov. 30 and Novavax on Jan. 29, 2021.

On Thursday, before a first ministers' meeting, Moe posted a letter on social media which said he would be "pressing for clarity and certainty on vaccines."

As of Friday, Saskatchewan had administered 38,710 total doses of vaccine. Overall, 6,600 people have been fully vaccinated, with two doses — about 0.56 per cent of the population.

From Jan. 28 to Feb, 4 the province administered just 1,855 doses. The previous seven days, it administered 7,329.

But vaccinations are once again on the upswing.

On Thursday, 2,099 doses were administered, after the arrival of a shipment of 5,850 doses.

In a news release Friday afternoon, the provincial government said it had received a further 6,000 Moderna doses at its provincial lab.

It expects to receive 23,400 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the first two weeks of March.

Health minister raises concerns with Ottawa

On Tuesday, Health Minister Paul Merriman appeared before the federal government's standing committee on health.

He told the committee there is a concern that further vaccine delays could affect those awaiting their second dose.

"If we don't get everything we are promised right now we will be in a challenging situation to get a second dose to the people that have a first dose in the time frame that is recommended."

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is meant to be given in two doses, 21 days apart, though that can be extended to 42 days, the National Advisory Council On Immunization says. Moderna recommends spacing its doses 28 days apart. 

Last month, the Saskatchewan government said it would follow the 42-day guideline "where operationally necessary in order to deliver more first doses to eligible people."

Merriman said Tuesday the government needs more certainty on vaccine supply.

"We're always reacting on very short notice to be able to find out when we can get this."

Vaccination plan coming, Moe says

This week, NDP Leader Ryan Meili said he shared the frustration about reduced shipments of vaccines, but said that should not stop the province from providing more details about who will be vaccinated.

"We need to see a clear sequencing and timing of vaccine delivery. I'm still getting calls every day, and I know every MLA is with people unable to find the information [about] where they line up in the queue to get a vaccine, " Meili said Thursday.

"We need that to be clear and we need to make sure we're getting the vaccine to the most vulnerable right away."

The second phase of the province's vaccine plan is slated for April. It has not provided a detailed plan as to how that will roll out across Saskatchewan.

Phase 1 of the plan covers approximately 190,000 people.

Those receiving a shot as part of the initial phase include health-care workers, residents and staff in long-term care homes and other residents over 70 years old. 

"We are working with vaccines that require two doses," Moe said. "So we need, for those 190,000 people, about 380,000 vaccine doses just to cover everyone in Phase 1. We have a long ways to go, just to get through Phase 1."

In a letter posted on social media Thursday, Moe said the government's "sequencing plan" for wider vaccinations would be released in the coming days.

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