Two new COVID-19-related deaths and 50 recoveries from the novel coronavirus were the main extras from Tuesday’s dashboard reading following the morning media update by the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.

Their report added 69 new cases of COVID-19, leaving 1,014 active cases. There are 149 provincial residents in hospital, including 34 infections being treated in an I-C-U. There are another 46 non-COVID patients in a Saskatchewan I-C-U for a total of 80 while seven residents with the virus are still in an Ontario hospital I-C-U with any returns to this province unlikely during the next 48 hours. In addition, there were 1,435 COVID-19 tests performed in Saskatchewan on Monday while 376 of 479 doses of vaccine administered were at least second shots making the recipient fully immunized.

Delivery of pediatric vaccines is underway with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) planning to offer immunizations in 141 communities across the province, in more than 100 schools, and through specialized clinics for children with additional needs. Information on booking your appointment or finding a clinic near you is available at Saskatchewan.ca/covid-19.

A high volume of traffic experienced this morning caused online booking system slowdowns which are being addressed. Between 8:00am and 1:00pm, more than 12,000 appointments were booked for pediatric vaccinations.  The SHA continues to see availability in clinic appointments and are confident they will be able to provide appointments for everyone who wants one.

Once SHA clinics are available in your area, group appointments for siblings or families can be made by calling 1-833-Sask-VAX (1-833-727-5829). Parents can be immunized at the same time as their children. Information on in-school clinics will be shared with parents and students directly.

Vaccinations will also be available for five to 11 year olds from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA) and participating pharmacies.

Information on locations of participating pharmacies will be updated when the pharmacies have received their supply of pediatric vaccine.

The provincial COVID-19 dashboard, including the provincial vaccination rate, will be updated the week of November 22 to incorporate this new age cohort.

Note that provincial vaccine administration information is reported on a 48 hour lag to permit for data entry from the vaccination sites. While Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) clinics will begin administering COVID-19 immunizations to children five to 11 years in Regina and Saskatoon starting Wednesday and expanding to other communities and regions through the week, it may take up to 48 hours for this data to be reported in the provincial dashboard.

Health Service Resumption 

On November 3, aggressive targets were established for returning redeployed health care staff to their home positions by the end of November. As of November 19, 79 per cent of eligible SHA staff who were redeployed to address the COVID-19 case surge have returned to their home positions, exceeding the 75 per cent target set for this date. The result is that 193 services that were previously slowed have been fully resumed and 68 have been partially resumed.

More detail in the progress report on these targets and the associated service resumptions by SHA service area is now available.

Rapid Test Kits Available 

From November 2 to 19, more than 2.2 million rapid test kits have been received in Saskatchewan with 650,000 allocated to SHA and 560,000 to ISC and NITHA for distribution in indigenous communities. The remainder will support Saskatchewan schools, daycares, congregate settings, public distribution centres and vulnerable populations.

There are more than 90 public distribution centres currently listed on Saskatchewan.ca and while some locations have fully distributed their allocations, additional kits are being delivered and new distribution locations continue to be added.  Residents should check the list regularly for the latest information on availability.

COVID-19 Summary for November 23, 2021:

• From November 17 – 23, 11,422 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 1,713,156. An additional 85,413 3rd and 4th doses have been administered in the province.
• As of November 23, 87 per cent of those 12+ have received their first dose and 81 per cent of those 12+ are fully vaccinated.
• There were 723 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan from November 17 – 23, bringing the provincial total to 80,481 cases. There were 952 recoveries recorded during the same period.
• The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan is currently 103 (8.6 per 100,000).
• Seventeen new deaths were reported November 17 – 23.
• There were 388 new lineage results reported for November 17 – 23.
• As of November 23, there are 149 people in hospital: 115 are receiving inpatient care and 34 are in intensive care. One hundred and two of the people in hospital (68.5 per cent) are not fully vaccinated. In addition, 7 residents are in out-of-province ICU’s.
• For the week of November 15 – 21, six monoclonal antibody infusion treatments were delivered in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert for a total of 20.
• From November 17 – 23, there were 11,378 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan.

Daily provincial COVID-19 statistics by age, date and geographic zones including active cases, recoveries, confirmed variants of concern and vaccination information can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-cases.

Stick it to COVID – Get Your Vaccination

The Saskatchewan Health Authority is holding vaccination clinics throughout the province.  Clinic locations and times are listed on the SHA website.   Any changes to clinic hours and location will be updated online.

A map of pharmacies participating in COVID-19 vaccinations is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-pharmacies.

COVID-19 vaccinations are also available at most SHA operated flu shot clinics, so residents can receive both flu and COVID-19 vaccinations at the same time and location.  The COVID-19 vaccinations can be booked using the same online flu shot appointment tool (www.4flu.ca) or by telephone at 1-833-SASKVAX (1-833-727-5829).  If you need both a COVID and flu shot, only one appointment is needed. Health staff are trained to offer both vaccines to those eligible.

Highlights