By the numbers: Saskatchewan's recent vaccine uptake by age group

Saskatchewan has administered 545,459 doses of COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday. 

Health officials are currently reporting on vaccine takeup among six age groups, spanning people in their 30s to people aged 80 and older.

In the last seven days, Saskatchewan residents in their 30s and 40s have been getting vaccinated at a faster pace than people in older age groups.

These younger people have only become eligible for vaccine appointments more recently than seniors, some of whom were prioritized for early vaccination at the beginning of 2021. 

Here's a breakdown of the cumulative number of people in each age group who have received a single dose of COVID-19 in the last week, along with statistics on eligibility and peak uptake days observed in each age group so far. 

80 years old and over

Total estimated population: 51,307

All group members eligible since: March 12

Peak vaccine uptake day for general population group members: 2,226 doses on March 20 

Cumulative uptake in the last seven days:

May 12: 45,277 (88 per cent of age group)

May 11: 45,224 (88 per cent)

May 10: 45,194 (88 per cent)

May 9: 45,183 (88 per cent)

May 8: 45,143 (88 per cent)

May 7: 45,050 (88 per cent)

May 6: 44,987 (88 per cent)

70 to 79 year olds

Total estimated population: 79,818

All group members eligible since: March 15

Peak vaccine uptake day for general population group members: 5,876 doses on April 1

Cumulative uptake in the last seven days: 

May 12: 69,274 (87 per cent of age group)

May 11: 69,158 (87 per cent)

May 10: 69,064 (87 per cent)

May 9: 69,015 (86 per cent)

May 8: 68,896 (86 per cent)

May 7: 68,663 (86 per cent)

May 6: 68,485 (86 per cent)

60 to 69 year olds

Total estimated population: 138,471

All group members eligible since: March 31

Peak vaccine uptake day for general population group members: 6,185 doses on April 10

Cumulative uptake in the last seven days: 

May 12: 111,391 (80 per cent of age group)

May 11: 111,092 (80 per cent)

May 10: 110,830 (80 per cent)

May 9: 110,679 (80 per cent)

May 8: 110,321 (80 per cent)

May 7: 109,635 (79 per cent)

May 6: 109,111 (79 per cent)

50 to 59 year olds

Total estimated population: 147,466

All group members eligible since: April 14

Peak vaccine uptake day for general population group members: 5,657 doses on April 22

Cumulative uptake in the last seven days: 

May 12: 99,593 (68 per cent of age group)

May 11: 99,059 (67 per cent)

May 10: 98,577 (67 per cent)

May 9: 98,338 (67 per cent)

May 8: 97,675 (66 per cent)

May 7: 96,555 (65 per cent)

May 6: 95,568 (65 per cent)

40 to 49 year olds

Total estimated population: 151,896

All group members eligible since: April 30

Peak vaccine uptake day for general population group members: 5,471 doses on May 5

Cumulative uptake in the last seven days: 

May 12: 86,303 (57 per cent of age group)

May 11: 84,887 (56 per cent)

May 10: 83,184 (55 per cent)

May 9: 82,595 (54 per cent)

May 8: 80,588 (53 per cent)

May 7: 76,315 (50 per cent)

May 6: 72,095 (47 per cent)

30 to 39 year olds

Total estimated population: 183,246

All group members eligible since: May 10

Peak vaccine uptake day for general population group members: 5,574 doses on May 9

Cumulative uptake in the last seven days: 

May 12: 57,564 (31 per cent of age group)

May 11: 54,116 (30 per cent)

May 10: 50,830 (28 per cent)

May 9: 49,336 (27%)

May 8: 44,238 (24 per cent)

May 7: 38,664 (21 per cent)

May 6: 33,292 (18 per cent)

Moe says majority getting vaccine when eligible

On Tuesday, Premier Scott Moe said he did not think there's "much of a holdup" among eligible age groups. 

"The majority [are] going out and taking their opportunity to receive a vaccine," Moe said. 

"We know there are some people, for whatever reason, [who] have a valid reason as to why they aren't able to receive a vaccine. But some will just choose not to. And that is their right, ultimately."

He said that if too many people choose not to get vaccinated, "it is going to challenge the safety and health in our society and ultimately our ability to reopen our society as quickly as we possibly can."

Saskatchewan's recently-unveiled reopening plan sets out gradual relaxations of some COVID-19 public health measures, but only if certain vaccination targets are met.

Under the plan, the first set of rollbacks will occur only after three weeks has passed since 70 per cent of people aged 40 and over have received a first dose, and once people aged 18 and over can book a vaccine appointment. 

The province reached that 70-per-cent target on Sunday and expects 18-year-olds to be eligible soon, so has tentatively set May 30 as the date for those first rollbacks. 

Here's how Saskatchewan was faring as of Thursday when it came to the other two benchmarks that would result in more rules being relaxed, though the province is still reviewing its policy on masks: