Saskatchewan nears 80 per cent of eligible people having first doses of COVID-19 vaccine

Saskatchewan has seen an uptick in people getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

As of Friday, 79.72 per cent of all eligible residents have received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 71 per cent have received two doses.

The province said in a news release Friday that it had reached the 80 per cent threshold for first doses among eligible people. In fact, it needs to administer 2,867 more doses to reach 80 per cent.

Since the announcement of the proof of vaccination policy set to take effect on Oct. 1, the province has seen a significant increase in doses going into arms of residents. The policy will apply to several establishments, businesses and event venues, and will also require vaccination or a negative test for all provincial and Crown employees.

First doses in the province have more than doubled in the past week compared to the week before. From Sept. 17 to 23, the province administered 25,958 vaccinations. Of those, 14,801 — nearly 57 per cent — were first doses.

That was nearly a 69 per cent increase, week-over-week.

In the week before, Sept. 10 to 16, the province had administered 15,358 vaccinations. Of those, only 46 per cent were first doses.

According to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), the vast majority of residents currently hospitalized for COVID-19 in Saskatchewan are unvaccinated.

Fully vaccinated residents are still encouraged to take preventative measures, like masking in indoor public settings and maintaining physical distancing, to break the chain of transmission. Vaccination continues to be a layered preventative measure effective in preventing COVID-19 transmission, SHA said.

SHA said in a news release that with increased demand for vaccination, the authority is adding more vaccination clinics, pop-up and walk-in vaccination clinics throughout the province.

Saskatchewan residents with a MySaskHealthRecord account can access their COVID-19 vaccination record in a new format that includes a Quick Response code. It can be saved, printed and viewed on mobile devices.