Sask. NDP calling for paid leave for parents to get kids vaccinated

With kids now able to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the Saskatchewan NDP is calling for parents to get paid leave to be with their child while they get their shot.

NDP Leader Ryan Meili said it’s important for kids to be protected against COVID-19 and for the province to improve its vaccination rates, but it’s going to take a little more to reduce the barriers facing families to get there.

“Obviously we’re very excited about the fact that kids can now get their vaccines,” Meili said during a media conference Friday. “We definitely can and should do a better job making it easy for people to get their vaccines.”

Meili said sick leave is needed in the province generally, but in the meantime, he’d like to see changes to the current Occupational Health and Safety regulations that currently only allow a person to take three hours of paid sick leave to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and applies only to the person getting the shot.

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili (right) and Health Critic Vicki Mowat call for paid leave for parents to take kids for their COVID-19 vaccinations on Nov. 26, 2021. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

The logic behind not allowing for paid leave for residents to receive their second or booster doses “just doesn’t make sense to me,” Meili said.

The NDP leader said he has not yet asked the Saskatchewan government to make this change.

Health Critic Vicki Mowat said the Opposition called on the Saskatchewan government more than a month ago to come out with a proactive plan for children to get vaccinated in the province. While she said the Saskatchewan Health Authority has done a “phenomenal job keeping up with initial interest,” more is needed.

“We’re hearing from parents who very much want to vaccinate their children but are having a hard time finding time between navigating the everyday realities of being a parent,” Mowat said.

Mowat says about one third of new COVID infections in the province are in the five-to-11 age category. According to Meili, 40,000 people in Saskatchewan have received their first dose but not their second.

“What’s in the way of that?” he asked. “Anything we can do to reduce those barriers and increase protection, let’s do it.”

Meili said he also has spoken to parents who have seen long lines and busier hours when taking their kids for their shots during non-work hours.

“This just allows for more opportunities, more space for people to book those appointments when they can actually get here with their kids,” he said.

Meili says the government is entitled to its decision to require that parents accompany their children, rather than sign a consent form, when they receive their vaccine. However, he said it is then up to the province to create opportunities for parents to be there with their kids.