'Micro-targeting' strategies in development to address low COVID-19 vaccine uptake in some Sask. communities
Saskatchewan health officials are working on a plan to address low COVID-19 vaccine uptake in a number of communities around the province.
Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, said while case rates are lowering at the provincial level, some communities are seeing “clusters” of cases pop up.
“We have pockets of high case clusters, especially in parts of the province where vaccination rates are low,” Shahab said. “There seems to be a tight correlation between that.”
As a result, the province is working on a “micro-targeting” strategy, to attempt to raise vaccination rates in specific communities.
Premier Scott Moe said the Saskatchewan Health Authority is working alongside pharmacies to make more vaccinations available in some rural and remote communities that have lower vaccination rates.
Shahab said it is “critical” that the province work community to community in specific areas to increase vaccine uptake. The province has rolled out door-to-door vaccination campaigns and pop-up clinics in rural and remote areas previously, with varying results between communities.
“Those are the efforts that are being made and have to be made in the days ahead, in order for us to really target those communities that might have a little bit lower vaccination rate, to not only make those vaccines available, but to bring it right to your doorstep in some cases,” Moe said.
Marlo Pritchard, president of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), said discussions are ongoing between the SHA, Ministry of Health and SPSA to develop and roll out community-specific vaccination strategies.
The plans for individual communities will be developed with input from local leaders and health care staff. Shahab said the locally devised strategies will look to address potential accessibility issues and provide education about the shot.
Pritchard said the province will provide more details about local vaccination strategies as they are developed in the coming days and weeks.
As of Thursday, Dr. Shahab said 87 per cent of the province has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 82 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Both Shahab and the premier attributed the lowering case rates and rising vaccine uptake to the province’s public health orders, which will be in effect until at least Jan. 31, 2022.
“Since the implementation of these simple measures over September, October, we have seen a gradual decline in case rate and we’ve also seen an increase in vaccination rates,” Shahab said.
“We really hope that if you stay the course over December and January, with the extension of these measures, we will have a safe, happy holiday season.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.