Sask. man eligible for 3rd vaccine dose but disappointed immunocompromised people aren't

The Saskatchewan government says 103,000 people received a different COVID-19 vaccine for their second dose than they got for their first. Regina's Ryan Doran is one of them.

On Tuesday, the province announced that people with mixed vaccines will be eligible for a third shot, in order to allow them to travel to countries that require two doses of the same vaccine type.

Doran, however, isn't celebrating the news. He lives with a person who is an organ transplant recipient and is immunocompromised.

Saskatchewan did not extend third-dose availability to all immunocompromised people, which Doran thinks is a mistake.

"I didn't realize that travellers were such an important priority for the government over the health of other people in the province."

Ontario also opened up third-dose eligibility on Tuesday, but there, the doses are targeted to select vulnerable populations, including transplant recipients, those being treated for hematological cancers and long-term care residents.

Doran said he was surprised when he found out Saskatchewan's rules mean that he's eligible for a third dose but the immunocompromised person he lives with isn't.

"We know that individuals with compromised immune systems don't always mount an appropriate immune response, even when they've received two doses," he said.

"The province of Ontario yesterday moved to offer additional vaccines for those individuals, but the government of Saskatchewan didn't, instead choosing to prioritize travellers over those who might have a medical reason for requiring an additional dose."

Getting booster 'right thing to do: epidemiologist

In a statement emailed to CBC, Saskatchewan's Ministry of Health wrote that the province's clinical expert advisory committee is "looking at information from other jurisdictions" and will consider guidance from Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization on third doses for immunocompromised people.

As of Wednesday, the province said it has 264,152 doses of Moderna's vaccine and 257,743 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's in its stockpile.

NDP education critic Carla Beck said the province needs to come up with a plan to further vaccinate immunocompromised people as soon as possible.

"That's only reasonable, that we have a plan to get immunocompromised folks — people who are so much more vulnerable especially in light of the delta variant — vaccinated."

Nazeem Muhajarine, a professor of community health and epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan, said Saskatchewan's healthy vaccine supply means this is a good time for the government to start thinking about expanding third doses to more of the population.

He said for people who need a booster shot "for whatever reason … travel, or because they feel like their immunity level has waned," or because they are immunocompromised or receiving medical treatment, "a boosted dose will help mount more immunity."

"For all of those reasons, getting a booster dose now is the right thing to do."