Tam says vaccinations, restrictions needed to cut Sask. infections

Canada's top public health doctor says Saskatchewan will need a last-minute surge of vaccinations and stronger public health measures to flatten its devastating fourth wave of COVID -19.

Dr. Theresa Tam, the country's chief public health officer, said Friday that those steps in combination could alter the grim trajectory Saskatchewan and Alberta are on as hospitalizations, case counts and deaths mount.

“You can bend the curve, and we know how, but these measures have to be taken,” Tam said.

Saskatchewan has set multiple records for its ICU and hospital census this month. The CEO of the province's health authority warns doctors may be weeks away from having to choose who receives critical care, and chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab warned on Wednesday that the province was bound for a “fall and winter of misery” on its current trajectory.

“(Vaccines) are not the fastest tools to use to suppress a current wave, but they will help to dampen the wave going forward.”

Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman said the province was not actively considering any new public health measures when asked on Wednesday, though Shahab said they could be needed if case counts climb.

All agree Saskatchewan's overall vaccination rate is far too low. As of two weeks ago, it was the lowest among all provinces in a federal dashboard.

Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief public health officer, said he has had multiple conversations with Shahab about raising uptake in certain areas.

Tam and federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Saskatchewan was among the provinces that requested doses of the J&J Janssen vaccine, a one-shot jab that uses viral vector technology, in the hopes some would opt for it over the MRNA vaccines most Canadians have received.

“If you look at the statistics in Saskatchewan compared to the other provinces and territories, you still have some ground to make up,” Njoo said.

Saskatchewan officials have been in talks with the federal government and other provinces about requesting medical personnel to relieve the province's strained health-care system. Matthew Glover, a spokesman for Merriman's office, confirmed talks had occurred with B.C., Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario.

As of Friday afternoon, there were scant details on what that help could look like and when it would come. Alexandra Hilkene, press secretary for Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott, said Ontario had yet to receive a formal aid request from Saskatchewan.