Regina Leader-Post

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.

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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.

 ?? MICHAEL BELL FILES ?? People all over the province are lining up at drive-thru vaccinatio­n clinics. Above, drivers wait their turn at the clinic at Evraz Place earlier this month.
MICHAEL BELL FILES People all over the province are lining up at drive-thru vaccinatio­n clinics. Above, drivers wait their turn at the clinic at Evraz Place earlier this month.
 ?? MATT OLSON FILES ?? A nurse draws a dose of vaccine at the Saskatoon Tribal Council COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Sasktel Centre.
MATT OLSON FILES A nurse draws a dose of vaccine at the Saskatoon Tribal Council COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Sasktel Centre.

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