SHA launching online & phone booking system for vaccine appointments

Rapid testing kits WATCH: Today the province unveiled how they intend to use thousands of rapid testing kits from Ottawa. Marc Smith has the details.

REGINA — In an effort to streamline the booking of COVID-19 vaccine appointments, the Saskatchewan Health Authority is preparing to launch an online and phone booking system during Phase 1 of the Vaccine Delivery Plan.

"We’re primarily using a way of us contacting residents, but we’ll be moving to a system where residents are able to contact us and choose their vaccination site and vaccination time," SHA CEO Scott Livingstone said during Thursday’s COVID-19 media conference.

On Wednesday, the province outlined how it plans to vaccinate residents over 70 that are living independently through phone calls, but it will be moving to a new system in the next few weeks.

"We’ve been using lists that have been generated through vital statistics and health card registration and the one thing we’ve found is those lists aren’t complete," Livingstone said.

The SHA anticipates the website and phone booking system will be ready in about 10 days. In the meantime, it will continue to call residents to book appointments when vaccines are available.

"The biggest determining factor is age, so we’ll start in the highest age group and start offering clinics that we can supply vaccine to and move through it in that way," Livingstone said.

Phase 1 of the province’s vaccine delivery plan is focused on healthcare workers, long-term and personal care home residents and staff, people 70 years old and over and resident 50 and over living in remote communities.

The province expects it will have completed first doses for care home residents this weekend and will begin focusing on people 70 and over living independently.

"Priority sequence is maintained, contacting the oldest residents first and then descending by years," Livingstone said. "Please note, the appointment availability is driven by vaccine availability. At this time, there isn’t a clinic in the province that’s able to receive enough vaccine to immunize all residents eligible in phase one."

As of Thursday, Saskatchewan has administered 65,436 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including 21,281 second doses, meaning about 1.8 per cent of the province’s population has been fully vaccinated.