Beginning on April 29, select pharmacies in 14 Saskatchewan communities will start to receive COVID-19 vaccines as part of an immunization pilot program, the province announced Thursday.
Booking for the pharmacy vaccination appointments may be offered as early as April 26, the province said in its latest COVID-19 update.
Up to 63 pharmacies will participate in a small-scale rollout, the update says. Staff working in pharmacies and stores with pharmacies that are participating in vaccinations are all eligible for vaccination.
As larger volumes of vaccine become available in the coming weeks, additional pharmacies in more communities will be added to the list, the province says.
Meanwhile, as of Thursday, residents 44 and older are eligible for immunization, except for the north, where the eligibility age remains at 40 and up.
However, the province says that demand for appointments outweighs the current available vaccine supply.
On Wednesday, 7,333 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered in Saskatchewan. That bring the provincial total of vaccines administered to 372,334.
Saskatchewan reported 254 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, and one more death due to the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. The person was in their 50s and from the south central zone.
There are 177 people in hospital in the province due to COVID-19, including 48 in intensive care.
Another 3,706 COVID-19 tests were processed in the province Wednesday, according to the update.
The province reported no new known cases involving the more contagious coronavirus variants of concern Thursday.
As of Wednesday, 5,521 cases involving the variants had been identified by screening in Saskatchewan. Regina has the bulk of those cases, with 3,206.
Of the 39,137 known COVID-19 cases to date in the province, 2,505 cases are considered active.
The seven-day average of daily new cases in Saskatchewan is 248 20.2 new cases per 100,000 population.
The new cases reported Thursday are in the following provincial zones:
- Far northwest: 14.
- Far northeast: nine.
- Northwest: 18.
- North central: 12.
- Northeast: seven.
- Saskatoon: 31.
- Central west: four.
- Central east: 19.
- Regina: 76.
- Southwest: 14.
- South central: 17.
- Southeast: 29.
Residence information is pending for four other new cases.
The province also reported 299 new recoveries on Thursday.