The Saskatchewan government said it has received its first order of the Moderna vaccine which will be given to the northern parts of the province.
4,900 doses will be eventually sent to the far north central and far north west regions of the province beginning on the weeks of Jan. 4 and 11.
“This is where we have had a high number of cases and a high test-postivie rate,” said Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan’s cheif medical health officer.
Long-term care residents and staff, personal care home residents and staff, priority health care workers including those assigned to COVID-19 wards, COVID testing and assessment staff will be the first to receive the vaccine.
The province said it will working with local leaders in the north to help notify residents of clinic dates, locations and information about the vaccine safety and efficacy.
That information will be provided through radio advertisements in English, Cree, Dene and Michif along with social media.
Health-care providers and long-term residents and their families will be notified directly by SHA.
“There’s a lot of work, preplanning work that is already happening as the vaccine roles out,” Shahab said.
“Obviously, the far north covers a large geographical area so the logistics and details on how to distribute the vaccine, setting up the clinic dates and informing people who eligible for vaccinations is ongoing.”
The province also announced it is expecting 6,825 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to be delivered to Saskatchewan each week of Jan. 11, 18 and 25.
Saskatchewan currently has five ultra-low temperature freezers in place in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert and are expecting four additional ULT freezers to be delivered to hold the vaccine.
Regina has already received 1,950 Pfizer vaccines while 1,834 have been administered to date. The remaining vaccines will be given to long-term care staff at Regina Pioneer Village and Santa Maria care homes.
Saskatoon has received 4,875 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and has administered 1,108 to date.
Prince Albert will be receiving 3,900 doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Jan. 4 which will be prioritized to health care workers and long-term care and personal care home staff and residents.
“While our vaccination program has been going well so far, these are still relatively small numbers of vaccines that we have received from the federal government,” said Paul Merriman, Saskatchewan’s minister of health.
“We expect the federal government to start receiving and distributing much larger number of vaccines in early in the New Year.”
Half of the doses to be received on Wednesday will be held during initial rollout as public health monitors efficacy, logistical requirements, and delivery throughout north.