Saskatchewan changes eligibility for COVID booster shots

Saskatchewan is making COVID-19 booster shots available to more people in the province.

During a media conference Tuesday, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency president Marlo Pritchard announced changes to the eligibility for booster doses in the province.

Effective immediately, people 50 and over who have received two doses of a Health Canada-approved COVID vaccine can get a booster shot five months after their second dose.

The eligibility previously was for those 65 and over provided six months had passed since their second shot.

Also, individuals 18 and over living in the far north or in First Nations communities, all health-care workers, and people born in 2009 or earlier with underlying health conditions that are considered clinically extremely vulnerable (including those with diabetes) now are eligible.

“Additional age groups will be added, with the target of making boosters available to all Saskatchewan residents 18 years and older early in 2022,” Pritchard said.

Chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said 350,000 more people now qualify for the booster shot in addition to the previous 165,000 in the 65-and-older age category.

The decision to allow residents to get their booster shot a month earlier was informed by Saskatchewan breakthrough case data.

“We actually looked in detail at our breakthrough case data,” Shahab said.

He said health officials saw that most cases in people both over and under the age of 50 were in unvaccinated residents, and that breakthrough cases in the fully vaccinated were more common when community transmission was high — initially in those over the age of 80 but then also in those over 70 and 60 years.

“It all relates to time since people got their second dose,” he said.

As people near five months since their second shot, there was a “small (but) definite signal” of increases in breakthrough cases. Those cases were mostly mild, but a few did require hospitalization, according to Shahab.

“That’s why, based on our own epidemiology, we made the decision … to allow booster doses for everyone 50 and over at five months,” he said.

Shahab said many people have been waiting about 6 1/2 months to get their booster shots.

“We hope that this will allow many people who are still in some ways protected from COVID with the two doses to boost their immunity and further reduce the risk of mild illness and more severe breakthrough illnesses,” Shahab explained.

Also Tuesday, the government said everyone who received two doses of AstraZeneca now can get an mRNA booster five months after the second AstraZeneca shot, regardless of the person’s age.

People can only get AstraZeneca as a booster if they have a documented medical contraindication to an mRNA vaccine.

Those who got AstraZeneca followed by an mRNA vaccine and who haven’t received additional doses for travel purposes can get a booster five months after their second dose.

People who have received a Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine are eligible to get an mRNA booster dose two months after their J&J shot.

Pritchard added anyone who already received a third or booster dose to allow them to travel doesn’t need a fourth dose at this time.

As of Tuesday, 87 per cent of Saskatchewan residents 12 and over and 82 per cent of people five and over have received their first shot. As well, 82 per cent of people in Saskatchewan aged 12 and over and 74 per cent of people five and over are fully vaccinated.

The uptake for booster shots has been around 57 per cent to-date, Shahab said.

Pritchard encouraged everyone to get a booster when they’re eligible.

“There are lots of vaccine supplies on hand,” he said. “The Province of Saskatchewan has sufficient vaccine within the province to support COVID-19 vaccinations for all residents 12 years and older, pediatric vaccinations (for those aged) five to 11 and all booster and third-dose vaccinations.”

People are urged to get boosters due to what the government called “waning immunity due to factors like age or underlying conditions that impact the body’s ability to mount a strong immune response to the vaccines.”

Boosters also are recommended since people who are fully vaccinated can still be infected through community transmission.

Appointments can be booked online, or boosters can be received at clinics operated by the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Indigenous Services Canada and the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority or at participating pharmacies.

Proof of vaccination requirements will not be impacted by booster vaccinations at this time, Shahab said.

Boosters encouraged for the holidays

“I think all of us have worked very hard to bring our case numbers so low,” Shahab said. “What we need to do is maintain (those) low case numbers but also look forward to a happy holiday season.”

Shahab recommended keeping contacts as low as possible, getting fully vaccinated, getting kids vaccinated and getting booster shots leading up to the holidays — especially because those shots are eligible for people over the age of 50 and at high risk because of underlying health conditions.

“Getting a booster will protect you further from holiday gatherings,” Shahab said.