‘A little bit of patience’: Moe looks ahead to booster shot campaign

When COVID-19 vaccines became widely available in Saskatchewan, it was all hands on deck from the health-care system to get shots out quickly.

However, things will look different when the province does it all over again.

Premier Scott Moe announced Thursday that booster shots will be available for those 18 and older, starting Monday. To be eligible, people have to wait three months after their second dose.

In an appearance with Gormley on Friday morning, Moe said the government won’t be redirecting anywhere near as many health-care workers to give out booster shots, and there won’t by any major vaccination drive-throughs.

Still, he’s optimistic shots will get into arms in a relatively timely manner.

“We have over 200 vaccine clinics running in over 140 communities, so there is significant capacity there,” he said. “We don’t have the larger, mass drive-through clinics that we once had … Our staff have returned to the services that they’re offering across the health-care system, but we do have pharmacies and everything running.”

Still, those who are looking to get a shot as soon as possible might run into a wait, according to Moe.

“Everyone is going to be full for a while. We understand that. We’re just asking for likely a little bit of patience across communities,” he said.

Moe also defended the decision to open up boosters to everyone 18 and older rather than go through age brackets like the initial vaccine rollout.

“We did want to open up the eligibility for everyone because we do want to have all of those vaccination clinics full and we want to ensure that we are getting as many booster doses in those people that would like to get their booster doses as possible here in Saskatchewan,” he said.

He didn’t put an exact timeline on when things will start to slow down, but did give a general idea.

“The clinics, we understand, will be full, and that’s a good thing as we go through the next number of weeks and month or two,” Moe said.

As the Omicron variant takes root in Canada, other provinces are cracking down with stricter COVID measures.

As of Monday, Quebec is reinstating capacity limits of 50 per cent for bars, restaurants and some other businesses. That province is also tightening its vaccine passport rules and is delaying the return to in-person learning for students.

Saskatchewan, on the other hand, has two public health rules: An indoor mask mandate, and a vaccine passport system.

Moe was asked whether Saskatchewan will follow in the footsteps of Quebec and other provinces with stricter COVID restrictions.

“Not at this point,” he replied. “Our numbers are looking pretty good here in Saskatchewan, particularly when you compare them to where we were a couple of months ago.

“We have two public health orders in place, significantly less than many other areas of Canada, but two public health orders that have proved to be extremely effective here in Saskatchewan. And Saskatchewan people, in fairness, have really been conducting themselves in a very responsible manner.”