Saskatchewan’s official Opposition is calling on the provincial government to add health-care workers to the priority category for COVID-19 vaccinations.
“Scott Moe has spent the whole week insulting health-care workers and families concerned about his complete lack of leadership,” said Vicki Mowat, the Saskatchewan NDP’s health critic.
“The premier needs an attitude adjustment — it’s time he finally takes real action that will protect families and stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Phase 1 of the province’s vaccination plan includes health-care workers in emergency departments, COVID-19 units, testing and assessment centres and intensive care units.
Age will be used as the foundation for setting out the immunization plan to the general public in Phase 2.
“We most certainly are making this vaccine available on a priority basis, ensuring that those health care professionals that are at high risk of coming in repeated contact with COVID-19 patients do have access to that vaccine,” Moe said during a press conference on Thursday.
“That is a statement I, quite frankly, wish the NDP wouldn’t have made and I think they should retract.”
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Police and teachers expressed their frustration with the plan, saying it fails to protect those who have no choice but to interact with the public.
The Saskatchewan Medical Association is adding its voice to the outcry.
“As a family physician and as president of the SMA, I worry about the many physicians across the province who are seeing patients daily and who are not protected,” said SMA president Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz.
“I am concerned about patients who may be reluctant to see their doctors out of fear of contracting COVID-19. A more planned, systematic approach to vaccinations among HCWs will provide patients with the reassurance that engaging with the health-care system is becoming safer and will lead to a quicker resumption of everyday health services.”
She said other provinces explicitly include health-care workers in the early phases of immunization rollout plans.
“Vaccination planning isn’t just about vaccinating those at highest risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19, but of protecting health system capacity by vaccinating health-care workers as soon as possible so that they aren’t taken out of the workforce by even a mild COVID-19 infection,” Konstantynowicz said.
Moe said officials are looking at possible revisions that might allow additional health-care workers to be immunized in Phase 1.
He also said he is aware that other groups are asking to be vaccinated sooner in Phase 2.
“If we had more vaccines available from the federal government, we would be able to look at getting everyone vaccinated a lot more quickly,” Moe said.
“The reality of the situation is that we are dealing with a very scarce supply of vaccine in Saskatchewan and across Canada.”
Moe said sequencing by age as outlined in Phase 2 is the best way to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili is also calling on the government to immediately introduce rapid testing in schools, long-term care facilities and high-risk communities.
He said the province has only used two per cent of rapid tests that are on hand.
“Rapid testing is one of the most effective tools to get ahead of the variants,” said Meili.
“Reports suggest that rapid testing in care homes could have cut deaths in half. With staggering death counts in long-term care, it just makes sense to get these rapid tests out as quickly as possible.”
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