Senior says she's in the dark about when she'll get vaccine
Provincial government under fire for unclear messaging about COVID shot
The limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines is leading to anxiety among older adults who say the government's messaging is unclear.
Elaine Bennett, 74, said she recently called public health to ask when she could expect her turn.
“They didn't really know,” Bennett said.
“I know nothing. They 're talking about Phase 2 and we're supposed to be in Phase 1, and we still don't know when we're going to get that vaccine.”
Phase 2 includes people aged 70 and older who live independently, like Bennett, but the Saskatchewan Health Authority says staff and residents of long-term and personal care homes and certain health care workers are generally a higher priority.
“After those populations are vaccinated, local public health officials will be establishing clinics for eligible residents 70+,” the SHA said in a statement.
Only a handful of those clinics have been held so far. Premier Scott Moe said that's simply because there aren't enough doses to go around.
Roughly 190,000 people are eligible in Phase 1 of the plan, requiring about 380,000 doses of the two-shot vaccines. Moe said Saskatchewan only expects to receive about 190,000 doses before the end of March. Only 59,395 had arrived as of Feb. 18, although health care workers have administered more than that by squeezing an “extra” dose out of some vials.
“The primary challenges we have with our vaccine rollout, in particular in Phase 1, is a lack of vaccines,” Moe said on Tuesday.
When clinics can open, the SHA plans to reach eligible seniors using contact lists generated from health care and vital statistics data.
“Using these lists, individuals are being contacted by phone based on their age until all available appointments are filled. Priority sequence is maintained, contacting the oldest residents first and descending by years,” according to a statement attributed to Health Minister Paul Merriman.
People don't lose their eligibility if they miss a clinic, but the SHA noted spots are limited.
“The lack of vaccine availability has created challenges as residents become aware of clinics but have not been yet contacted by public health to book an appointment,” reads a statement from the SHA, which is in some parts identical to the one attributed to Merriman.
“At this time, no clinic in the province is able to receive enough vaccine to immunize all residents eligible in Phase One. Once appointments are filled, that clinic must be suspended until more vaccine is delivered,” the SHA statement continued.
Merriman's statement said that while “demand for vaccine is outweighing our current available supply right now, we look forward to ensuring everyone eligible to be immunized in Phase One knows when and where they can access the vaccination.”
Some feel that message hasn't been clear. NDP Opposition health critic Vicki Mowat said in an interview last week that her office has been contacted by seniors still anxious about what exactly the plan is.
“We've had so many people reach out to us to say, `I have no idea how I'm getting the vaccine, I'm supposed to be eligible, but I don't know if I'm supposed to call my doctor, if I'm supposed to call the government,' ” Mowat said.
“Government has sort of promised that this will become clearer in the future, but I have yet to see that.”