SHA to open drive-through, walk-in vaccination clinics across province for 55+ age group

The Saskatchewan Health Authority is putting its drive-through vaccination plan into gear starting Saturday.

With a big shipment of vaccines on its way to Saskatchewan, the government is set to open up another dozen vaccination clinics.

Over the next week, the province is expecting more than 55,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, including 45,000 doses from the United States.

“The road to the end of this pandemic goes right through those clinics,” Health Minister Paul Merriman said Thursday.

Merriman touted the province’s vaccine program, saying the first 100,000 doses in Saskatchewan took 89 days to be administered but, because of shipment increases, the next 100,000 took only 19 days.

The AstraZeneca doses will be used to open drive-through and walk-in clinics around Saskatchewan for people 55 and older on a first-come, first-served basis.

Until now, the only drive-through vaccination clinic used by the SHA was one at Regina’s Evraz Place.

That site is set to open again Saturday, with a drive-through at Saskatoon’s Prairieland Park to begin operation Monday. The Regina site will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Swift Current is to open a walk-in clinic Friday and a drive-through clinic on Saturday. A walk-in clinic in Weyburn is to start administering shots Saturday, with a drive-through clinic to follow on Tuesday.

A drive-through is to open in Yorkton on Tuesday. Moose Jaw is to open a walk-in clinic on Wednesday, with its drive-through to begin operating April 9.

In the north, drive-throughs are to open in Prince Albert, Lloydminster and North Battleford on Sunday.

According to the SHA, the clinics’ locations and hours of operation will be announced the day before each clinic opens.

“All of these new clinics are first-come, first-served, so you may be waiting for a while but the lines actually move pretty quick thanks to the efficiency of our health-care workers, and it is certainly worth the wait,” said Merriman.

The current recommendation for the AstraZeneca vaccine is that it not be administered to people younger than 55 because of concerns over blood clots.

The previous drive-through clinic in Regina expanded eligibility by age relatively quickly, sometimes changing more than once in a day.

When asked what the plan is if there are still AstraZeneca doses left when it would be time to expand age eligibility, Merriman said officials are hoping the age recommendation changes before that.

“We’ve had a few age movements on the AstraZeneca … so we’re hoping that there’s some movement on that, that we can utilize these vaccines for anybody,” said Merriman.

The SHA on Thursday also expanded the eligibility for booking appointments to anyone 58 and over, down from 60 years of age.