Demand forces SHA to close Saskatoon drive-through vaccination site early

Saskatoon’s drive-through COVID-19 vaccination clinic opened Monday — and closed Monday morning.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority site at Prairieland Park closed to new traffic at about 10:45 a.m., having reached its capacity. The SHA said everyone in line would be vaccinated, but no one else was allowed to join the line.

That didn’t deter the spirits of those that got in on time, though.

“Well, we’ve been waiting a year now, so the rest of the day seems fine,” said John Cote, who had been waiting in the lineup since 7:30 a.m.

“I think things are going along as best as they can. We are here because we really want to get the vaccine,” said Barb Stefanyshyn-Cote, who was also in the vehicle.

The wait times sat around six hours once people made it into Prairieland Park. Darryl Caudle was there at 8 a.m., and he came prepared.

“I had the laptop (and I) had my phone so I could work from the car. This becomes the office,” he said.

Others were filling their time in different ways.

“(We’ve) been on our phones and talking to people; that keeps us busy. I’m finding it’s not too bad. You’ve got to be patient when you come to these things and know that you’re going to be in a lineup for a while. You just have things to do. She’s crocheting, I’m talking to people and we keep busy. We go for walks a little bit,” Brian Miller said, referring to the woman in the car with him.

“It’s just been a long year for everyone, I think … it’s nice to have something positive. You see the turnout today, it shows people are thinking the same way, that they want this to be closer to over than starting again.”

I’m through and into the site now.

Tough to show the full picture, but it’s packed in here. #yxe pic.twitter.com/e4NZrs9mS7

— Brady Lang (@BradyLangSK) April 5, 2021

Terri Arnelien said she felt fortunate to get into the Monday line early, at 7:45 a.m.

“Very lucky, very elite. We’re in an elite group,” she said with a laugh. “We knew it would be a wait, didn’t think it would be this long.”

The clinic is to reopen Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., and is operating on a first-come, first-served basis.

“For those with the ability to travel, there are a number of clinics operating in other parts of the province with shorter wait times,” the SHA said in a media release. “These clinics and their wait times can be found here.”

The clinic is administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to anyone 55 and over.

The SHA also is opening drive-through clinics Tuesday in Warman (8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Warman Fire Hall on Centennial Boulevard) and Yorkton (8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., St. Mary’s Cultural Centre parking lot, 240 Wellington Ave.).

The drive-through clinic in Weyburn is to open Wednesday (9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 1560 New City Garden Rd., the former Ebel’s Contracting and Supply building).

The first guest to Prairieland camps out

For some, it was an early morning to grab spots in the line.

One Saskatoon couple, though, took it to the next level.

Rob called in to the Rock 102 Morning Show on Monday to say he had been waiting in the line since 10 p.m. Sunday.

“I know it’s crazy, but we wanted to make sure we got vaccinated,” he said.

Rob’s wife, Brenda, spent the night at home in Saskatoon before cabbing over to the site at 5:30 a.m. Rob stayed in the half-ton truck through the night, and he was keeping busy.

“I read a book for a while and watched all the traffic going up and down the street. That’s about it,” he said.

Rob said the second vehicle to show up arrived around 2 a.m. Monday.