Sask. citizens concerned by vaccine doses missing from records

Some residents are missing records of the COVID-19 vaccine doses from their MySaskHealthRecord accounts and it's causing concern. 

According to eHealth, there have been 3,207 requests about vaccine dose information missing from their records as of Friday. Of those requests, about 1,789 have been resolved, the agency said.

Kenn Sunley is still working on getting his first of two vaccine doses added to his record. 

While it hasn't given him grief yet, he's worried that sooner or later he'll be turned away from a bar, restaurant or flight —and he's confused about why it's missing. 

His second shot was at a Regina pharmacy in early July and it's been documented on his record. His first shot — booked as an appointment and administered at Evraz Place — is missing, he said. 

"That first appointment I had was [set up] through [the Saskatchewan Health Authority] and when I got there they knew who I was, they knew I had an appointment, they had me on the sheet of paper and they stroked it off," he said. 

Sunley found it difficult to track down the sheet required to request an update to one's immunization record because he found the website difficult to navigate.

Vaccine certificate rollout 'chaotic': NDP health critic 

Vicki Mowat, the Official Opposition health critic, says she's heard similar plights from others who are in Sunley's position and find it difficult to navigate the website. She said some citizens are concerned that some businesses may not let them enter without a QR code, or be able to travel. 

Wallet cards, as they have been called, are given out after a second dose of COVID-19 has been administered and considered provincially as a proof of vaccine for businesses.

"The whole rollout has been chaotic. We have heard concerns consistently since it was announced," Mowat said, adding that she thinks better planning could have eliminated the troubles some now face.

The provincial NDP have been critical of the vaccine certification process, which they said was rushed and ill-managed, including the privacy breach that led to the vaccine passports being temporarily recalled in late September.

"We've also heard about folks who go to access their vaccine records and find they're inaccurate on their file. This is supposed to be the source of information. That leaves a lot of concerns." 

Mowat said she's heard that some people are kept waiting on phones, on hold, for several hours looking for help to resolve the issue.

Sunley said he submitted his form a couple of weeks ago, but has received two emails since then asking him to send the same form to eHealth. 

He believes his issue is that he needs to submit a lot number for his vaccine, which has been one aspect missing from some people's records, but he's not sure how to locate it. 

Mowat said that folks they've heard from have had to track down their lot numbers by calling the pharmacy and return that information to eHealth.

On the immunization update request form, there is a check-box asking if the sender is missing their lot number. 

"We are aware that some proof-of-vaccination records may have incomplete or incorrect information due to issues at time of vaccine entry," Lorri Thacyk, the director of communications for eHealth, told CBC in an email. 

She said more than 511,000 people now have a MySaskHealthRecord, with about 205,000 of them having signed up since the vaccine certificates became available on Aug. 5. 

"It may take some time for a citizen's record to be updated if a data quality issue has occurred, as it may require consultation with the immunizer — such as the Saskatchewan Health Authority or a pharmacy — to verify and correct the vaccination information," Thacyk said.