No timeline for expanding COVID boosters in Sask.

If you’re hoping to get a second COVID-19 booster shot in Saskatchewan, and you’re not over 50 years old or part of certain select groups, you’re just going to have to keep on waiting.

How long that wait could be isn’t something the province can say yet.

As BA-5 Omicron waves hit other provinces, including B.C., Alberta and Ontario, Ontario’s chief medical health officer said he anticipates opening up COVID-19 booster eligibility for those aged 18-59 as early as this week.

On Monday, the University of Saskatchewan released its weekly wastewater testing results and explanations, showing a 78 per cent increase in the amount of COVID-19 found in wastewater compared to samples tested one week earlier.

The results also showed that 14.2 per cent of the viral load was made up of the BA-5 variant, which “suggests that Saskatoon is entering into a 7th wave driven by Omicron BA-5.”

Wastewater testing results released by the University of Regina also showed significant increases in the virus found in wastewater, suggesting levels “are high” again. Traces of the BA-5 variant were also found.

Dr. Julie Kryzanowski, Saskatchewan’s deputy chief medical health officer, said the province is monitoring the new Omicron variant closely.

“We’re looking at what’s happening in other provinces and territories across Canada, as well as what has happened in the United States,” she said. “The evidence shows that BA-5 is likely more transmissible than BA-2.”

That will likely mean more cases, Kryzanowski said, but Saskatchewan’s trajectory will depend on several factors including how the virus transmits and underlying immunity.

Third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been available to the general population since late December, and fourth shots have been available to those 50 and older along with other select groups since April.

Kryzanowski repeatedly said that opening up booster eligibility to the general population 18 and older was currently being planned for, but she could not offer any specific dates. She said there needs to be staff available to administer the shots, and other resources as well.

“I wish I could be more specific about a date when this decision and an announcement might be made,” Kryzanowski said. “I can’t provide a specific date, but I anticipate at some point this summer we’ll be able to make an announcement, so that people can be planning ahead for that reality.”

More than 63,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have expired in Saskatchewan before they could be used, Kryzanowski said.