SHA expands age criteria for AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine site in Regina

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has expanded the eligibility criteria for its AstraZeneca COVID-19 drive-thru immunization site in Regina.

A second update from the SHA around 11:15 a.m. Tuesday said people ages 60 through 64 can now be vaccinated at the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. grounds.

The vaccination site opened Monday on a first-come, first-served basis for those aged 63 and 64. In the first Tuesday update around 9:45 a.m., the SHA added 62-year-olds.

The SHA said only those who are in that range of 60 to 64 years old on the date of immunization are eligible to receive their vaccination shot.

The drive-thru site is open from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and can be accessed through the Lewvan Drive and 11th Avenue entrance.

Saskatchewan has received 15,500 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that will be used for residents between the ages of 60 and 64 and Phase 1 health-care workers. Currently, AstraZeneca is approved for use in Canada for those aged 18 to 64.

On Sunday, Irish and Dutch government officials temporarily suspended the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Germany announced Monday, it is also suspending its use.

The decision was made following reports of serious blood clotting after inoculations in Norway.

On Thursday, Health Canada said at least nine European countries had stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In an interview with The Canadian Press last week, Health Canada’s chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma said there is no scientific explanation to suggest a link between the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and blood clots.

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“There’s not a good biological explanation about why a vaccine of this type, injected into a muscle, would cause that kind of adverse event,” she told the outlet.

Sharma said Health Canada has a “really low threshold” for adverse events that could trigger a pause in the use of a vaccine and wouldn’t hesitate to do so if something warranted it.

—With files from Kelly Skjerven and Reuters’ Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen