Saskatchewan Reports 65 New Cases, 131 Recoveries, No New Deaths

Just one per cent more of Saskatchewan adults need to get their first COVID-19 vaccine shot in the coming week in order for the province to begin Step Three – the final phase of its Reopening Roadmap – on July 11.

There are 69 per cent of those 18 and older and 67 per cent of those 12 and older have now received their first dose.

Vaccines Reported

An additional 14,849 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 893,514.

The 14,849 doses of COVID-19 vaccine reported today were administered to residents living in the following zones: Far North West, 188; Far North Central, 1; Far North East, 97; North West, 712; North Central, 1,255; North East, 474; Saskatoon, 3,206; Central West, 356; Central East, 1,696; Regina, 3,464; South West, 464; South Central, 1,587; and South East, 1,065. There were  284 doses administered with zone of residence pending.

Seventy-nine per cent of those over the age of 40 have received their first dose. Seventy-three per cent of those 30+ have received their first dose. Sixty-nine per cent of those 18+ have received their first dose, while sixty-seven per cent of those 12+ have also received their first dose.

Note: Age is calculated on the date of the most recent dose.  Someone age 69 at their first dose and 70 at their second will now be counted in the 70-79 group for both doses, resulting in a decrease in the 60-69 first dose number.

All vaccine administration details for the province, including first and second doses, can be found at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness.

Saskatchewan has been allocated 89,880 Moderna doses for the week of June 14 and 130,620 Moderna doses for the week of June 21.

Second Doses Available to 50+ Starting Monday, June 14

Starting Monday, June 14, all residents 12+ can receive their first dose and second dose vaccinations are open to residents 50+ or anyone who received their first dose on or before April 15.  Individuals diagnosed with or being treated for cancer and those who have received solid organ transplants will receive a letter of eligibility in the mail that will allow them priority access to a second dose.

Second doses will also be available in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District to all residents 18+, based on the product’s recommended interval from their first dose.

Eligibility to book for second doses is based on age or date of first dose.  Residents who meet at least one of these criteria are eligible for their second dose.

When all persons 12 and older become eligible to receive their second doses starting June 24, vaccinations will be provided based on the manufacturer interval.  For Moderna, this is 28 days after first dose.  For Pfizer, this is 21 days after first dose.  Note that residents may receive their second doses up to four months following their first dose but it’s highly recommended that you receive your second dose as soon as you are eligible.

A limited number of first doses of AstraZeneca have been administered since May 5 to those individuals who have contraindication for mRNA vaccines.  If you received AstraZeneca as recommended by your health care provider after May 5, arrangements will be made to administer your second dose based on current, recommended intervals.

Vaccination appointments can be booked through the Saskatchewan Health Authority online at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 or by calling 1-833-SaskVax (1-833-727-5829).

A map of participating pharmacies across the province is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-pharmacies.  This online tool includes links to pharmacy booking websites and provides details on the vaccine brand being offered at each location.

For street addresses and hours of operation for drive-thru and walk-in clinics, see www.saskatchewan.ca/drive-thru-vax.

Please do not call until you are eligible to book your vaccination appointment.  If you do not know the date of your first dose or have misplaced the wallet card provided at the time of your first dose, 1-833-SaskVax can provide you with that date, or check your Immunization History on your MySaskHealthRecord account.

There may be clinic options outside your community and residents are encouraged to consider those alternate locations for immunization.  Additional stops should be avoided if possible when travelling to another community for an appointment.  More clinics will be added as new vaccine shipments are received.

During your second-dose appointment, the clinic or pharmacy will validate the timing and brand of your first dose to ensure you are receiving your second dose within the recommended timeframe.  The type of vaccine available at each location will be advertised.  Additional information on how to book your appointment is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-vaccine-booking.

Daily COVID-19 Statistics

There are 65 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan on June 13, bringing the provincial total to 47,941 cases. Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 Dashboard is available here.

The new cases are located in the following zones: Far North West, 4; Far North East, 1; North West, 4; North Central, 4; Saskatoon, 14; Regina, 11; South West, 4; South Central, 14; and South East, 9. One case was reassigned to the North Central zone, and one case tested out of province was added to the North Central Zone.

No new deaths were reported today.

Recoveries total 46,577 and 809 cases are considered active.

There are 95 people in hospital. Seventy-five people are receiving inpatient care: North West, 11; North Central, 5; Saskatoon, 27; Central East, 3; Regina, 24; South West, 2; South Central, 1; and South East; 2.  Twenty people are in intensive care: North West, 2; North Central, 3; Saskatoon, 6; Central East, 1; Regina, 7; and South West, 1.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 case number is 78 (6.4 per 100,000).  A chart comparing today’s average to data collected over the past few months is available at https://dashboard.saskatchewan.ca/health-wellness/covid-19/seven-day-average-of-new-covid-cases.

There were 1,553 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on June 12, 2021.

To date, 888,021 COVID-19 tests have been processed in Saskatchewan. As of June 11, 2021, when other provincial and national numbers were available, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 747,907 tests performed per million population.  The national rate was 937,746.

The Ministry of Health is now reporting COVID-19 variants of concern according to the latest designations approved by the World Health Organization and aligns with the designations being used by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

As of June 12, 11,704 variants of concern have been identified by screening in Saskatchewan, reported in the following zones: Far North West, 283; Far North Central, 1; Far North East, 79; North West, 745; North Central, 586; North East, 77; Saskatoon, 2,012; Central West, 121; Central East, 626; Regina, 4,737; South West, 396; South Central, 862; and South East, 1,112.  There are 67 screened VOCs with residence pending.

No new lineage results were reported for Variants of Concern today.  Of the 6,199 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 5,932 are Alpha (B.1.1.7), 208 are Gamma (P.1), 49 are Delta (B.1.617.2) and 10 are Beta (B.1.351).

Confirmed variant of concern cases may appear in both columns on the website, depending on testing for that case.  Adding the cases identified by screening and those that have received whole genome sequencing may result in double-counting individual cases.

Further statistics on the total number of cases among health care workers, breakdowns of total cases by source of infection, age, sex and region, total tests to date, per capita testing rate and current numbers of confirmed variants of concern can be found at http://www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.

It may not be allergies or a spring cold.  Get tested for COVID-19.

Fever? Cough and headache? Fatigued or experiencing shortness of breath?  Do not “tough it out” or assume it’s spring allergies.  Stay home and seek a COVID-19 test.  Testing remains one of the most important tools to limiting the spread of COVID-19 in your community.  Even if you have been recently vaccinated, it can take up to three weeks for your immune system to respond.  Vaccines are not a cure preventing all possible transmission and you remain at risk of contracting COVID-19 during that time.

COVID-19 testing is available to all residents.  You can still receive a referral for COVID-19 testing through HealthLine 811 or a health care provider, and drive-thru testing sites are available without a referral seven days a week in Regina, Saskatoon, Yorkton and Prince Albert.  Information on symptoms to watch for and how to get tested is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-testing.

General COVID-19 Information

General public inquiries may be directed to COVID19@health.gov.sk.ca.

Know your risk.  Keep yourself and others safe www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administration-and-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/about-covid-19/know-your-risk.

(Photo credit: Saskatchewan Government/Saskatchewan Government News Release)