Hurry up inoculation of seniors, critics say
Some researchers and doctors in Saskatchewan say they're perplexed by the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations.
The province had received 13,675 vaccine doses as of Dec. 31, according to the federal government, but had only administered 4,254 of them — about 31 per cent — as of Tuesday.
University of Regina psychologist Dr. Thomas Hadjistavropoulos said he wants to know what's taking so long. As the research chair in aging and health, he works with residents of long-term care homes, who are anxious to get the vaccine.
“We see them dying more than any other group in society,” Hadjistavropoulos said.
“I really think it's a moral imperative to take care of our seniors as soon as possible.
“Because for every day we delay this process, there may be one, or probably a lot more than one (person) who will die because of even a short delay of a few days.”
The first phase of Saskatchewan's inoculation plan, which aims to protect four at-risk populations, began last week.
Since then, Saskatchewan and other provinces have been criticized for the pace of the rollout. The province appears to have administered 241 doses between Monday and Tuesday.
The available vaccines have limitations. The jab developed by Pfizer and Biontech has to be stored at ultralow temperatures, making it hard to transport.
Saskatchewan received 4,900 doses of another two-dose vaccine developed by Moderna last week, the first of which were administered in northern communities on Tuesday. The province is holding back half of the Moderna doses to conserve supplies for a second shot, which is administered a few weeks later.
Postmedia asked Saskatchewan's Ministry of Health for comment on Monday but received none as of Tuesday. Spokeswoman Colleen Book said more information would be forthcoming at an upcoming news conference.
Opposition health critic Vicki Mowat said she wants more details about where other groups fit into the vaccination plan, such as corrections workers, people who are immunocompromised and First Nations.
“I think at this point, there are a lot more questions than answers,” she said.
University of Saskatchewan community health and epidemiology professor Dr. Nazeem Muhajarine said the key will be to see how Saskatchewan and other provinces scale up their plans when more doses become available.
“We have lots of vaccines on order.
“I think we need to have not only a province by province system in place to get these vaccines out to peoples' arms, but we also have to have a national framework as well,” he said.