There was one death related to COVID-19 reported by the province on Thursday.

This death was in the 80 plus age group and was in the North West zone.

The number of deaths in the province has risen to 380.

There were 211 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the province on Thursday.

The North Central zone, which includes Prince Albert, reported five new cases. 

North Central 2, which is Prince Albert, has 30 active cases.      

North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, has 49 active cases and North Central 3 has 18 active cases.    
There are currently 174 people in hospital overall in the province. Of the 158 reported as receiving in patient care, there are 17 in North Central. Of the 16 people reported as being in intensive care, there is one in North Central.    

The current seven-day average 155, or 12.7 cases per 100,000 population.

Of the 28,191 reported COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan, 1,493 are considered active.      

The recovered number now sits at 26,318 after 142 more recoveries were reported.    

The total numbers of cases since the beginning of the pandemic is 28,191 of those 7,288 cases are from the North area (2,943 North West, 3,213 North Central and 1,132 North East).

There were 2,057 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered yesterday in Saskatchewan bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 65,436.   

There were no doses administered in the North Central yesterday. Doses were administered in the adjacent North East zone, North West, Far North Central, Central East, South Central, South East, Regina and Saskatoon.

On Feb. 23, an additional 16 doses were administered in the Far North West zone and an additional 18 doses were administered in the Central East zone.

There were 3,104 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on Feb. 21.    

As of today there have been 568,314 COVID-19 tests performed in Saskatchewan.  

Under 20 active COVID-19 cases in youth in North Central

On Thursday the province released the updated numbers on COVID-19 cases in youth. The total active cases in youth provincially in all locations are 300. Five have no known location and 295 have a location reported.

The province releases the update on the numbers each Thursday.

Currently in the North Central zone, which includes Prince Albert, there are 17 active cases in youth. Last week there were 91 tests performed across the North Central zone.

North Central 2, which is Prince Albert, has four active cases in youth.

North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, has 10 active cases and North Central 3 has three active cases.

Cumulative tests performed since Sept. 7, 2020 in the North Central zone is 6,842.

Provincially there is a 17.5 per cent test positivity rate in youth.

There were 1,845 tests performed in total in the province in the last week.

The cumulative number of tests performed since Sept. 7, 2020 is 76,105.

Vaccine and pandemic research in the province will be receiving a boost after the province announced that they are committing $15 million of new funding to the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan.

In a press conference with VIDO Director Dr. Volker Gerdts on Tuesday, Premier Scott Moe announced the funding, which is contingent on the federal government providing $45 million in funding that the province has requested.

Moe explained that vaccine scarcity in the world shows the need for projects of this type adding that Canada can lead in research and development through facilities like VIDO’s proposed Centre for Pandemic Research.

“This will not only serve Saskatchewan residents but it will serve all Canadians through research, development and ultimately the production of new vaccines. This would be a level 4 containment facility,” Moe said.

The provincial funding commitment is contingent on the Government of Canada committing and flowing funds to the project, which has already received committed funding committed by the City of Saskatoon and significant contributions from several private donors.

Moe explained that the funding would greatly enhance the facilities research and development capabilities. Currently the only level 4 facility in Canada is the National Microbiology Lab (NML) in Winnipeg and they have expressed support for the idea. Moe and Minister for Innovation Saskatchewan Jeremy Harrison have written and have had conversations with senior federal ministers about the proposal.

“We are hopeful and quite confident that we will be able to obtain the necessary federal support for this project to go ahead,”

VIDO has already begun to expand their vaccine manufacturing capabilities with a project that began in October 2020 and expected to be completed in October 2021.

“Production of vaccines could then begin sometime in 2022 with the capability to produce up to 40 million vaccines per year,” Moe said.

He added that the development of that project would not make a change to the current COVID-19 vaccination drive in the province where they expect Saskatchewan residents to be vaccinated by the end of 2021.

“However we should be ready to produce millions of doses of vaccines to respond to any new viruses that may present or variance of the COVID-19 virus that may present in the future and respond as required,”

Moe expects the province to be a leader in producing and developing vaccines for all Canadians.

“We are asking the federal government and the Prime Minister to support this proposal to insure that Canada always has the ability to develop and produce our own lifesaving vaccines and to insure that the vaccine shortage that we are experiencing now at the most critical moment in our lifetime never happens again,” Moe said.

Gerdts thanked the province for the commitment and called it fantastic news for VIDO and will allow them to establish their Canadian Centre for Pandemic Research. He explained that it would benefit both humans and livestock.

“It will help us to prepare and be better prepared for future emerging diseases both affecting humans and animals and it will build on existing infrastructure that we already have at the University of Saskatchewan,” Gerdts said.

VIDO is already home to the countries largest high containment laboratory and soon will have vaccine manufacturing capabilities. Gerdts explained that the existing elements are critical to rapidly responding to new and emerging diseases.

“What today’s announcement and hopefully the commitment from the federal government will allow us to do is to now build on that existing infrastructure and leverage those previous investments to upgrade our containment abilities to the highest level,” Gerdts said.

They will also allow the organization to build a new animal facility to work with animals that new diseases emerge from. Gerdts explained VIDO’s track record as the first to isolate the COVID-19 virus and an animal model to test vaccines.

“We are now also the first university lab to actually have a vaccine in clinical trials, our trials are ongoing right now, we are in phase one and phase two trials and we are looking forward to taking our vaccine into development as that is possible,” Gerdts said.

The province’s commitment will support VIDO’s Centre for Pandemic Research, which will include an upgrade to Level 4 containment facilities. Containment Level 4 laboratories provide the capability to work safely with the most serious and deadly human and animal diseases

“Today’s announcement is really a great honour for us and great for the organization and we are looking forward to the federal government to come up with the $45 million that we have asked for plus some operating funding,” Gerdts said.

According to Gerdts, VIDO is already doing research on emerging variants with the UK variant already being worked on in their facility. He explained that they are testing if their vaccine and other Canadian vaccines are effective against the variants and have adjusted their own vaccine to the variant so in the future it will be more effective.

VIDO was originally designed and built to accommodate the possible future enhancement to Level 4 containment capability. This includes 2000 square feet of existing lab space that can be readily upgraded to meet Level 4 containment requirements The Centre will also provide critical animal housing for multiple species and significantly reduce the time required to advance vaccine development to human clinical trials. In addition, this Centre for Pandemic Research gives VIDO the capacity to develop the workforce and train the talent needed for a strong vaccine and therapeutic ecosystem in Canada. Since the beginning of the pandemic the province has provided VIDO-InterVac with additional funding of $4.2 million to support the development of a COVID-19 vaccine and construct a new small-scale manufacturing facility to be completed later this year. This funding is in addition to annual operations funding of $3.8 million in 2019-20 and $4.1 million in 2020-21.

On Monday the government announced that pharmacists in the province are on board to play a key role in the delivery of vaccinations. Pharmacists will be delivering the COVID-19 vaccine through community pharmacies in Phase 2 of the provincial immunization plan.  The participation of Saskatchewan pharmacists will significantly increase public access to the vaccine, improving the rate of vaccination.
“We appreciate that Saskatchewan pharmacists are ready to step up and deliver the COVID-19 vaccine,” Minister of Health Paul Merriman said in a release.

“The Government of Saskatchewan is working hard to make sure COVID-19 vaccine is safely delivered into the arms of Saskatchewan residents through all possible avenues.”
Details of the plan for pharmacy delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine are currently under development, including which community pharmacies are participating.
“We are proud to join other health care professionals in providing safe, timely access to COVID-19 vaccinations for Saskatchewan residents,” Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan Board Chair George Furneaux said.
The government has negotiated a tentative new pharmacy Proprietor Agreement with the Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan on behalf of all Saskatchewan pharmacies. 

The Agreement establishes the fee for pharmacist delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, along with increases in prescription dispensing fees and influenza vaccine fees.  It is for a one year term, beginning March 1, 2021.

 “The new agreement acknowledges the growing role of the pharmacy sector in advancing effective primary health care delivery in Saskatchewan,” Furneaux said in a release from the organization.

“It further advances our longstanding commitment to the Province’s Connected Care strategy.”

The highlights of the contract include adjustments to professional fees and compensation for COVID-19 vaccine administration.

The maximum dispensing fee has been adjusted to $11.85 per prescription, an increase of 25 cents. This is the first increase since 2018. According to the release this change recognizes the increasing complexities and costs related to safe drug therapy and distribution.

There will also be a COVID-10 vaccine administration fee for the duration of the pandemic recognizing the current exceptional conditions.

“This remuneration recognizes both the expanding role of pharmacists in primary health care, and the sector’s significant and sustained investment in adapting operations to ensure safe patient care as the pandemic enters its second year,” the release stated.

There will also be a retroactive two dollar increase in flu administration fee for the 2020-2021 and an increase to $14 from $13 per flu vaccination for the upcoming season.

Another part of the contract has been put in place to support patient access to medications in the event of drug shortages, the contract also includes strengthening the Therapeutic Drug Substitution program to include more support tools, including remuneration, for pharmacists to use in exceptional situations such as drug shortages.

“In the early months of the pandemic, pharmacists willingly stepped up and invested in modifying their operations to serve patients safely close to home,” Furneaux added.

“It’s encouraging to see that this contract acknowledges both our contribution and our commitment to patient care in collaboration with our colleagues in health care.”

There were 177 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the province on Monday.

For the first time in three days there were no additional deaths reported.

The number of deaths in the province currently sits at 372.    

The North Central zone, which includes Prince Albert, reported seven new cases.    

North Central 2, which is Prince Albert, has 37  active cases.      

North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, has 58 active cases and North Central 3 has 22 active cases.    
There are currently 177 people in hospital overall in the province. Of the 162 reported as receiving in patient care there are 17 in North Central. Of the 15 people reported as being in intensive care there is one in North Central.    

The current seven-day average 158, or 12.9 cases per 100,000 population.

Of the 27,797 reported COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan, 1,652  are considered active.      

The recovered number now sits at 25,468 after 195 more recoveries were reported.    

The total numbers of cases since the beginning of the pandemic is 27,797 of those 7,218 cases are from the North area (2,904 North West, 3,187 North Central and 1,127 North East).

There were 2,105 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on Feb. 21.    

As of today there have been 561,183 COVID-19 tests performed in Saskatchewan.  

Over 80 per cent of long-term care home residents vaccinated

According to the province on Monday 81 per cent of residents in long-term care homes have received, as well 43 per cent have received both first and second doses and are now fully vaccinated

 “Our health care workers are doing an excellent job of administering vaccines quickly, safely and efficiently in long-term care facilities across the province,” Health Minister Paul Merriman said in the release.

“The only thing slowing them down is the shortage of vaccines from the federal government,” Merriman added.

“When we get enough doses, we will be able to quickly finish vaccinating all the residents and staff in our long-term care homes.  We look forward to having our seniors in long-term care fully vaccinated as soon as possible so they are protected from the threat of COVID-19.”

There were 920 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered yesterday in Saskatchewan, bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 61,730.  

There were no doses administered in the North Central zone on Sunday. Doses were administered in the North West, Central East and South Central zones.

The South Central and Regina zones reported an additional 67 doses administered on Feb. 20.

According to the release the province remains in phase one of vaccine delivery, targeting residents and staff of long-term and personal-care homes, identified health care providers, residents 70 years and older and residents aged 50 and older in remote/Northern Saskatchewan.  Eligible populations will be contacted directly to receive their vaccinations.   

They added that registration for appointments for phase two sequenced populations will be available when phase two commences.  People are advised not to contact HealthLine 811 to register for vaccinations at this time.  Notification will be provided when the registration system is available.  

Province announces pharmacists will play role in phase two of vaccination delivery

Also on Monday the government announced that pharmacists in the province are on board to play a key role in delivery of vaccinations. Pharmacists will be delivering COVID-19 vaccine through community pharmacies in Phase 2 of the provincial immunization plan.  The participation of Saskatchewan pharmacists will significantly increase public access to the vaccine, improving the rate of vaccination.
“We appreciate that Saskatchewan pharmacists are ready to step up and deliver the COVID-19 vaccine,” Merriman said in a release.

“The Government of Saskatchewan is working hard to make sure COVID-19 vaccine is safely delivered into the arms of Saskatchewan residents through all possible avenues.”
Details of the plan for pharmacy delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine are currently under development, including which community pharmacies are participating.
“We are proud to join other health care professionals in providing safe, timely access to COVID-19 vaccinations for Saskatchewan residents,” Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan Board Chair George Furneaux said.
The government has negotiated a tentative new pharmacy Proprietor Agreement with the Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan on behalf of all Saskatchewan pharmacies.  The Agreement establishes the fee for pharmacist delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, along with increases in prescription dispensing fees and influenza vaccine fees.  It is for a one year term, beginning March 1, 2021.

On Thursday the province released the updated numbers on COVID-19 cases in youth. The total active cases in youth provincially in all locations are 283. One has no known location and 282 have a location reported.

The province releases the update on the numbers each Thursday.

Currently in the North Central zone, which includes Prince Albert, there are 27 active cases in youth. Last week there were 108 tests performed across the North Central zone.

North Central 2, which is Prince Albert, has nine active cases in youth.

North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, has 1 active cases and North Central 3 has seven active cases.

Cumulative tests performed since Sept. 7, 2020 in the North Central zone is 5,598

Provincially there is a 14.8 per cent test positivity rate in youth.

There were 1,868 tests performed in total in the province in the last week.

The cumulative number of tests performed since Sept. 7, 2020 is 73,977.