A sense of optimism surrounded the Tuesday, March 2 COVID briefing, as Premier Scott Moe and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab recapped the latest developments. In addition to addressing the increased volume of vaccine arriving, including 15,000 doses of the newly approved AstraZeneca vaccine, Moe and Shahab outlined the decreases in new cases, hospitalizations, and tests positive. 

Moe was also encouraged by the fact that vaccines were in 100 percent of long term care homes with progress being made on delivery. The positive news has Saskatchewan residents anticipating some changes, no matter how minor, to the current round of health restrictions. 

Referring to relaxing restrictions, particularly around the household gathering component, Moe stated, “What I would say to this is we are very close to finalizing these decisions. I’ve spoken to Dr. Shahab about this frequently. He just wants to see the new case and hospitalization numbers remain stable for a few more days. If that occurs, we should have more to say about household restrictions possibly by early next week.”

The restrictions that were put in place in late December 2020, for the most part, have remained in effect up to now. The original review date of March 19 may be moved up, hinted the Premier, if current trends continue. 

Another game changer noted by both Moe and Shahab is a recent finding on the prolonged efficacy of all the vaccines in play. Previously, the standard was to see second shots delivered within three weeks. Research on trial recipients from the UK and France has shown the first dose of the vaccine to remain effective for a considerably longer period. 

“There has been some great information from the UK, Quebec, and BC on how effective one dose is, as long as four months,” explained Dr. Shahab, “So we are working closely with our partners in other provinces.” 

If health recommendations are borne out, Shahab explained that delaying the second shot of the vaccine three or four months would allow the province to aggressively pursue delivery of the first doses. This would accelerate the vaccination process, and while everyone would require a second dose at a later point, the goal of achieving herd immunity could be achieved much more quickly. 

“If we were able to do that,” Shahab speculated, “we could see most of our population 18 and older potentially receiving their first dose by June. That would really help in putting the pandemic behind us.”

Saskatchewan continues to exhibit the highest number of cases per capita in Canada. Understanding that, Shahab and Moe continue to urge residents to abide by existing guidelines and to be prepared to receive vaccinations at the first available opportunity.

“I am asking everyone in this province to hang tight for just a few more days,” requested Moe. “The next number of weeks, not months, we are going to start to see things change significantly.”