COVID-19: Saskatchewan’s top doctor urges residents to get booster shots | The Canadian News

Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman and Dr. Saqib Shahab will be presenting a COVID-19 update Thursday morning as cases continue to rise in the province.

The update will be livestreamed here.

As COVID-19 case numbers are still high, Saskatchewan’s top doctor is urging people to get their booster shots if they have not done so yet.

Health officials stated as of Jan. 26, there are 1,194 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, 203 of them among people who were unvaccinated or less than 21 days after their first dose, 50 had received their first dose or were less than 21 days after their second dose, 616 were fully vaccinated and 325 were fully vaccinated and more than 14 days from receiving their booster dose.

During the PEOC briefing on Wednesday, the province stated that 79 per cent of residents five years and older have received their second dose.

The rate of reaching double vaccination has slowed but numbers are still climbing. More than 1,100 people received their second dose in the past month.

During the PEOC briefing, Shahab implied vaccine mandates might need to be upgraded to require a booster to remain effective amid Omicron.

“I think we also need to, I think, have some confidence, some satisfaction that given that we had to leave too many jurisdictions and in terms of our booster uptake, which is not being sustained,” said Shahab. “Although it’s lagged and we had a lead in terms of access to rapid testing, we were able to start schools on time. We were able to, you know, maintain non-COVID services and the health system. ”

Global Regina will bring you more.

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