The COVID-19 pill will be available to eligible Saskatchewan residents as of Wednesday.

In their weekly novel coronavirus update, the Ministry of Health says Paxlovid, the first Health Canada-approved oral antiviral, is for treatment if symptomatic COVID-19 cases following a positive test, not for prevention of virus infection. Saskatchewan residents should note that Paxlovid is only being provided to eligible patients through referral by HealthLine 811. Eligibility can be found below.
Meanwhile, the weekly update says 47 per cent of eligible provincial residents aged 18-and-over have now received their booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine. As well, 84 per cent of Saskatchewan people aged 12 years old and over and 79 per cent of those aged five-and-over are considered to be fully vaccinated.
Otherwise, Tuesday’s dashboard update from the provincial government website shows a second straight day of more recoveries than new cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan. However, there were two new fatalities and a rise of 29 hospitalized patients to 291, including 33 infections being treated in an I-C-U…up four from Monday. There are 12,652 active cases of COVID-19 in the province after 1,049 new cases and 1,147 recoveries were included in the latest update.

Paxlovid, the first Health Canada-approved oral antiviral (pill) to treat COVID-19, will be available for eligible residents starting Wednesday, January 26.

Eligibility
Paxlovid is for treatment of symptomatic COVID-19 after a positive test — not for prevention of COVID-19 infection. It is taken in tablet form twice a day for five days. It stops the virus from multiplying in the body, to help people with lower immunity to COVID-19 overcome the infection and prevent progression to hospitalization.

Paxlovid is only recommended for adults over 18 who:

• are symptomatic and within five days of developing symptoms;
• test positive (PCR or rapid test) for mild or moderate COVID-19;
• do not have any medical conditions that would make treatment inappropriate; and meet one of the following criteria:
  • are immunocompromised, regardless of vaccine status;
  • are 55 and older, and not fully vaccinated; or
  • have a medical condition that puts them at high risk, and are not fully vaccinated.

Those who believe they meet the criteria must call HealthLine 811 for further assessment of their eligibility.

Paxlovid is only being provided to eligible patients through referral by HealthLine 811. Do not visit your family physician or pharmacy to request this medication.

Saskatchewan has received a limited quantity (900 courses) from the federal supply but further supplies are expected.  The current supply has been distributed to select community pharmacies across the province to be accessible to eligible residents, once they’ve received a referral.  This includes working with Indigenous Services Canada to ensure access for First Nations and Métis communities.

For more information on antiviral and antibody treatments available, visit saskatchewan.ca/covid-19.

Treatment is No Substitute for Vaccination

While Saskatchewan supports new treatments for those most at risk for severe COVID-19 illnesses, vaccination remains the best tool available to prevent hospitalizations and death due to COVID-19.  Immunization does not offer absolute protection against COVID-19 but improves your body’s defense against the virus.  It is safe and effective.

All Saskatchewan residents age five and older are eligible to be fully vaccinated, and residents age eighteen and older are eligible for third/booster doses.  Certain at-risk populations are now also eligible for fourth doses.  For more information on the third/booster dose eligibility, see Saskatchewan.ca/covid-19.

There are more than 70,000 COVID-19 immunization appointments available through the Saskatchewan Health Authority clinics in addition to those offered by pharmacies throughout the province.  Stick it to COVID and book your immunization today.

Public Health Orders Will Be Enforced

For the weeks of January 10 and 17, the provincial COVID enforcement team issued a number of summary office tickets for failure to abide by the current public health orders:

• The Beacon Coffeehouse, Caronport received a $14,000 fine for failure to check for proof of vaccination or a negative test.
• The Jug Bar and Grill, Eston received a $14,000 fine for failure to check for proof of vaccination or a negative test.
• Thirteen individual fines of $2,800 for failure to mask were issued to individuals in Oxbow, Sedley, Tisdale (two), Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Weyburn, Hudson Bay (five), and Milden.

Note that under The Health Information and Privacy Act, the Ministry of Health cannot disclose the names of individuals who have received fines.

COVID-19 Summary for January 25, 2022:

• From January 19 – January 25, 14,129 first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of primary series vaccines administered in the province to 1,848,289.
• An additional 29,163 third and fourth doses have been administered in the province from January 19 – January 25, bringing the total number of vaccines including boosters administered in the province to 2,295,038.  Forty-seven per cent of eligible residents age 18+ have now received their booster dose.
• As of January 25, 89 per cent of residents 12 years and older and 85 per cent of residents five years older have received their first dose.  Eighty-four per cent of residents 12 years and older and 79 per cent of residents five years and older are fully vaccinated.
• There were 8,732 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan from January 19 – January 25, bringing the provincial total to 111,447 cases.  There were 7,919 recoveries recorded during the same period.
• The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan is currently 1,247 (103.5/100,000).
• Sixteen new deaths were reported January 19 – January 25.
• There were 641 new lineage results reported for January 19 – January 25.
• As of January 25, 291 individuals are hospitalized including 258 inpatient hospitalizations and 33 ICU hospitalizations. Of the 291 patients, 108 (37.1 per cent) were not fully vaccinated.
• Since October 25, 96 monoclonal antibody infusion treatments have been delivered.
• From January 19 – January 25, there were 28,623 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan.

Highlights