Incomplete vaccine records causing frustration for double-dosed Sask. residents

REGINA -

Some double-dosed Saskatchewan residents are noticing their online vaccination records are incomplete, as they prepare for mandatory vaccine policies to come into effect.

When George McHattie signed onto his MySaskHealthRecord account, he found his COVID-19 vaccination certificate was missing a piece of information for his second dose, potentially causing issues for his planned travel to a family function in Ontario.

"I've been told by family members that I absolutely have to have this lot number in there or it's classed as an incomplete form," McHattie said, noting all other aspects about his second dose including date, location and type of shot are included. "It's frustrating to say the least."

Facing a similar issue is Brian Johnson, who told CTV News his second vaccine dose was not recorded at all, despite getting his shot at the same location and on the same day as his wife, who did have her shot registered.

"If I can't get it in the next couple of weeks I won't be able to go to City of Regina facilities for example or to Rider games, so it can cause some problems," Johnson said. "We had our vaccinations in June and I hadn't looked until just recently because I really had no reason to look for it."

"I just hope they get it corrected soon and other people don't run into the same problem."

Both Johnson and McHattie said they received their second dose through pharmacies.

Adding to the issue is an overload of calls to eHealth Saskatchewan as people try to sign up for the MySaskHealthRecord service to access their own vaccine papers.

At an event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili said the government was underprepared for the rise of proof of vaccination requirements.

 

"This is on the desk of Paul Merriman, he has not given [eHealth] the instructions to do what they need to do: get those records to be readily available and make sure they're properly recorded and not missing," Meili said.

eHealth Saskatchewan said while it produces the physical report, what is displayed is based on how the information is entered, and referred CTV News to the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry said it has received reports of missing doses and has determined the most common cause is "human error". The government said the issue has been addressed by "a recent program update that prompts users to save the immunization event."

Anyone with missing information is asked to fill out a form on eHealth's website.