Saskatchewan reported three deaths between June 19 and 25. This is the province’s last weekly report before moving to a monthly schedule.
Article content
As federal health officials cautioned against another wave of COVID-19 on the horizon and more infectious sub-variants of COVID-19 on the rise in Canada, the Saskatchewan government said planning for a fall booster campaign is underway.
Article content
On Wednesday, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) said guidance jurisdictions should prepare to offer another round of COVID-19 vaccinations to people at increased risk of severe illness from the virus — regardless of the number of booster doses they’ve already received.
That includes people 65 years of age and older, residents of long-term care or living facilities, and people 12 years of age and older who have an underlying medical condition that places them at high risk.
NACI also recommended everyone be up to date on vaccinations and booster doses.
The provincial government said that guidance will be incorporated into planning for a COVID-19 vaccination program this fall. A release issued on Thursday said more details will be announced once they are finalized.
All Saskatchewan residents aged 50 years and older are currently eligible to receive a second booster dose, four months after their last dose.
Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said circulating Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are even more transmissible and able to evade immunity than previous versions, making a rise in cases likely in the coming weeks.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health’s last weekly epidemiology report said detections of the Omicron BA.5 sublineage increased from 1.1 per cent of the variants of concern reported last week to 3.6 per cent.
Thursday was the last weekly report the province will provide before transitioning to a monthly reporting schedule. The report included data for the period of June 19-25.
There were three deaths reported in that period; two occurred within the week. One occurred earlier, on June 18, but was reported this week. That brings the total since the pandemic started to 1,427 deaths.
Hospitalizations have continued to trend downward, from 157 residents in hospital to 119, with four in critical condition. That number has continued to decline since reaching a peak in April.
From June 19 to 25, only 3,429 doses of vaccine were administered; 86.5 per cent were booster doses.
On July 21, a three-week report will be released covering June 26 to July 16. After that, the first monthly report will be released on Aug. 18.
