NEED TO KNOW
The news about the pandemic changes quickly and it can be tough to keep up to date. Andrea Hill finds the answers to some of your questions about the virus, vaccinations and the public health orders in effect in the province.
Q What new public health orders were announced last week?
A Effective April 13, all private indoor gatherings at homes across the province are limited to household members only. There are exceptions for people living alone, people in co-parenting arrangements, caregivers and support personnel or tradespeople doing work at a home.
Effective April 16, gatherings at places of worship across the province are capped at 30 people.
Other, longer standing public health orders remain in effect across the province including mandatory mask use in indoor public spaces and outdoor gatherings being limited to a maximum of 10 people with attendees ensuring distancing of at least two metres between households.
Tighter restrictions are in place for Regina and surrounding areas, including that restaurants there are closed to in-person dining. Restaurants elsewhere can be open for in-person dining, but tables must be spaced out and no more than four people can sit at a table.
Q How long are all these measures in place?
A All public health orders are in place until April 26, at which point they will be re-evaluated.
Q Why didn't the government shut down in-person dining everywhere last week?
A In defending its decision to keep restaurants outside Regina open to in-person dining, the province argued that most transmission recently has been occurring within household bubbles and in workplaces.
Q Who has been vaccinated so far?
A Saskatchewan has an age-based vaccination plan; older people are first. Exceptions are longterm and personal care home staff, certain health-care workers (including paramedics and people working in emergency departments, intensive care units and COVID -19 wards) and medically vulnerable people.
As of April 16, anyone aged 48 and older can book an appointment and people aged 48 to 54 can get their shots at drive-thru clinics. People living in the far north are eligible if they are age 40 or older. In Regina, people as young as 46 were able to go to the drive-thru vaccination centre at Evraz Place. The site ran out of vaccine on Friday night and might be closed for up to two weeks while waiting for more vaccine to arrive.
Q Why isn't the government prioritizing all essential workers?
A When the province announced its vaccine plan in December, age was one of the biggest risk factors for hospitalization and death from COVID -19. Since February, new variants of the virus have increasingly been making younger people sick, fuelling calls for a pivot to prioritize essential and health-care workers, regardless of age. The government has said changing its plan now would slow the rollout.
Q Which vaccines are offered in Saskatchewan, and where?
A Saskatchewan uses three different vaccines: Pfizer-biontech, Moderna and Astrazeneca. Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends the Astrazeneca vaccine only be given to people aged 55 and older because of reports that a small number of recipients, primarily women under age 55, have developed blood clots between four and 16 days after receiving it.
When drive-thru vaccination centres opened in Saskatchewan, they exclusively carried Astrazeneca vaccines; booked appointments provided Pfizer and Moderna. That has since changed. Now, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are offered at the drive-thru centres, which are open to people aged 48 and older, and Astrazeneca is offered at some appointments.
Q Can I choose which vaccine to get?
A No. Saskatchewan is advising people to take the first vaccine offered to them.
If you show up at an appointment or at a drive-thru clinic, you will be given the vaccine that is on hand.
Q Is getting one dose enough?
A While studies have shown that even a single dose of the Pfizer, Moderna or Astrazeneca vaccines can protect against COVID-19, Saskatchewan is recommending that everyone receiving them get their two doses.
Canada has ordered millions of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but no shipments have yet arrived.
Q Does my second dose need to be the same vaccine as the first dose?
A While clinical trials in some countries are looking at whether you can have a first dose from one vaccine and a second from a different vaccine, there isn't enough data yet to support combining them.
In Saskatchewan, both your first and second dose must be the same.
Q When will everyone be vaccinated?
A Premier Scott Moe told the legislative assembly on April 8 that people in their 40s would be able to book their first dose by April 26, and people in their 30s will be not far behind by May 10. Everyone over 18 should be able to schedule their first dose by May 17, he said. Delays in receiving vaccines may affect this.
Q Can I visit someone if we've both been vaccinated?
A No. The Saskatchewan Health Authority says everyone must abide by public health orders, regardless of their vaccination status. “We probably do have to remain cautious, at least until the majority of our adult population has had one dose, and then we will have to assess uptake, impact on transmission and our overall case numbers,” chief medical officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said on April 13.