Sask. vaccine plan 'not supportive of health-care workers,' CMA president says

Saskatchewan could be one of the only provinces where most health-care workers will get their COVID-19 vaccinations at the same time as the general public, and the head of the Canadian Medical Association says that needs to change.

CMA President Dr. Ann Collins said doctors are in close contact with society's most ill and vulnerable, and vaccination could prevent them from contracting COVID and spreading it to other patients.

"It's not supportive of health-care workers who are so essential to addressing COVID, to addressing the pandemic," Collins said.

Collins said physicians are also role models who need to convince skeptical patients to get the vaccine. 

"One way to do that is for them to get the vaccine themselves. That will go a long way in addressing vaccine hesitancy," she said.

She and others have agreed the elderly and other vulnerable individuals should be the top priority, but health-care workers should be the next highest group on the list. Collins and others are urging all provincial governments to follow the national guidelines set by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

"Health-care workers should be prioritized to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, since health-care workers providing front-line care to patients are differentially exposed to SARS-CoV-2, and are needed to protect health-care capacity," the NACI guidelines read.

A small number of Saskatchewan health-care workers in the highest risk environments, such as intensive care units, have been vaccinated. But NACI also recommends vaccinating all health-care workers in the second stage of rollout.

That was Saskatchewan's initial plan, but it changed last week.

B.C, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec have stated plans to prioritize health workers in line with NACI recommendations. Some provinces such as Alberta have not yet publicly announced a full plan.

Collins' comments echo those of Saskatchewan Medical Association President Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz.

"Patients can't get the care they need if health-care workers are quarantining. Our health system is strained as it is," she said.

The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses and the Saskatchewan Medical Students Society voiced similar concerns last week.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said most health professionals were taken off the priority list last week because of vaccine shortages. Moe said a select number may be added in the future.

For now, age will be the main factor for vaccine priority in Saskatchewan.