2,500 doses of J&J vaccine available in Sask. starting Wednesday

The first jabs of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will be available in Saskatchewan starting Wednesday.

In a media release Tuesday, the Saskatchewan government said the province’s initial supply of 2,500 doses of the J&J vaccine will be available to people 18 and over at Saskatchewan Health Authority clinics in Regina, Saskatoon, Estevan, Prince Albert, Melfort, Swift Current, North Battleford and Lloydminster.

Because of the limited number of doses, the J&J shots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at walk-in clinics. Appointments can’t be booked online through the Patient Booking System.

People are urged to check the SHA website for a list of locations, dates and times for the clinics. Additional clinic locations also are planned in the future.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine isn’t available as a booster shot or third dose. Those who receive the vaccine can get a booster dose two months after their vaccination and will have an mRNA vaccine (Moderna or Pfizer) available to them.

Johnson & Johnson is a single-dose, viral vector vaccine. Those who get it will be considered fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving their single dose.

That could make it attractive to those who have been hesitant to receive one of the other COVID vaccines in Saskatchewan, according to chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.

“The government and many providers, they have received requests for this vaccine and so that is exactly why this vaccine was obtained with the expectation that a few people who remain unvaccinated will opt for this single dose if they still haven’t come forward to get the Pfizer or Moderna two-dose vaccine,” Shahab said during a conference call Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, 87 per cent of Saskatchewan residents who are eligible to be vaccinated have received their first dose and 80 per cent of eligible people in the province are considered fully vaccinated.

Rapid tests

According to Marlo Pritchard, president of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, the province is expecting to get 1.4 million rapid tests for distribution early next week.

So far, more than 759,000 rapid tests kits have been shipped to schools across the province, enough for every student under the age of 12 to get one package of five tests.

About 560,000 have been earmarked for delivery for Indigenous Services Canada to be distributed to First Nations across the province, and 750,000 kits have been sent to SHA testing and assessment centres.

Pritchard says once tests are again available for the public to pick up from various locations, that information will also be shared on the province’s COVID-19 website.

Public health orders

With the holidays just a few weeks away, the province isn’t saying yet if public health orders, which are to expire Nov. 30, will remain in place or if they’ll be rescinded.

While Shahab says the province is doing well collectively after a fourth COVID wave, residents need to remain cautious.

“Our case numbers are coming down, but it’s absolutely essential that we stay the course over the next four to six weeks and over the holidays,” he explained. “Any specific extension of current public health measures or any changes to that would be announced in due course.”

Shahab also talked about potential booster shots for those under the age of 65 and COVID case numbers that appear to be rising among those who are fully vaccinated.

“The rate of breakthrough cases is 16 per 100,000 in the unvaccinated and only three in the vaccinated. We also know from case contact follow-up that a mild illness or asymptomatic illness in a fully vaccinated person does not, for the most part in a person under the age of 65, lead to hospitalization or serious outcome,” he said.

He said the primary function of vaccines was to reduce serious outcomes like hospitalization and death, which is what the vaccines are doing for the most part.

While there are no details yet, he said there is “active discussion” and consideration being given to allowing booster doses for younger age groups and members of the general public as people hit and surpass the six-month mark after their second COVID vaccination.

Shahab asked everyone to “watch out” for those announcements, especially if there’s evidence that booster shots can further reduce transmission rates and even mild illness.