mRNA vaccines like those manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna continue to be a recommendation of the province.
The Saskatchewan government is reminding residents and parents that additional protections from COVID-19 are available to children and teens as of Monday.
The Pfizer COVID-19 bivalent vaccine is available to kids between the ages of five and 11 as a first shot or as a booster. For kids between the ages of 12 and 17, they’ll have the Novavax Nuvaxovid vaccine available as a primary shot or booster.
Due to supply, the shots will only be offered at health clinics by the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority and Indigenous Services Canada. The shots will not be available in pharmacies.
Novavax’s shot is a protein-based vaccine with no genetic material and has been available since April 2022. The province says mRNA vaccines, such as Moderna and Pfizer, are still the recommended vaccines for all residents. The province notes it is safe to take Moderna and Pfizer vaccines at the same time.
“Being up-to-date on your vaccinations matters. Having a COVID-19 booster in the last six months reduces the risk of a COVID-19 death eight times compared to unvaccinated individuals, and more than four times compared to those without a recent booster dose,” the province said in a news release on Friday.
The most recent provincial data, released on January 6 and covering the period from December 18 to 31, saw 302 confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded. Nearly half of those cases, 47 per cent, were in people 65 and older.
The province currently has 18 active COVID-19 outbreaks listed on its website, all of them in long-term care homes or personal care homes. Outbreaks connected to work, mass gatherings, school, etc. are no longer listed by the government.
There have been about four to six COVID-19 outbreaks per week recorded from “high-risk settings” in the month prior to the most recent CRISP report.
“Given widespread community transmission of the Omicron variant, residents should assume it is present everywhere and take all appropriate precautions,” the province said.
The most recent data indicates that most of the province with the exception of Regina has fewer than 50 per cent of the province up to date with their shots, meaning the primary doses and at least one booster. More than 80 per cent of people in Saskatchewan older than the age of 12 have not yet received a bivalent booster shot.
All residents older than six months are eligible for a COVID-19 shot. Children six months to four years old are not eligible for boosters but should complete their primary shots, the province says. Those five years and older should wait four months between finishing their primary series of shots and getting a booster.
“However, if you are 12 years of age or older and received an original COVID-19 vaccine for your fall booster instead of a bivalent vaccine, you are not eligible to receive a bivalent dose at this time. Epidemiological evidence, data on waning immunity, emerging variants and new vaccines will determine future booster dose recommendations,” the province said.
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