Sask. residents 85 and older can book COVID-19 vaccination online, by phone beginning Thursday

Saskatchewan residents 85 years and older will be able tobook their COVID-19 vaccine appointments online or over the phone beginning Thursday at 8 a.m.

"The launch of the new patient booking system is a huge step forward in our efforts to get faster and more efficient at delivering COVID-19 vaccines," said Paul Merriman, minister of health, in a statement Wednesday.

"Booking your appointment online will only take a few minutes, making things simple and fast for those who are scheduling their appointments."

The Saskatchewan Health Authority(SHA) says it's first opening up online booking to the targeted age group of 85 and older in order to assure that vaccine demand and supply ismonitored.

The authority says it's critical that those not eligible do not call the phone line, in order to prevent stress on service infrastructure.

The province says it does not want to see its system crash due to ineligible people trying to book vaccine appointments.

"We believe that we have addressed any risks associated with major failures throughout the continuum. But again, there could be some small glitches and it's why we're trying to reinforce that only those eligible book, as we get through the system and get to learn how it's performing. And we'll monitorthat on an hourly basis," SHA CEO Scott Livingstone said at a press conference in Regina Wednesday.

The SHA says it will announce further age groups eligible to book their appointments inthe coming days.

The province says thatusers who are not comfortable withor do not have access to technology can book by phone. Also, family and friends who are notyet eligible for immunization can also book on behalf of someone who is eligible.

The SHA's new online booking systemwillindicate which age category is currently eligible for appointments.

Patients can also speak by phone to a booking agent for help with their appointment, according to the province.The vaccine call centre will operate8 a.m. to 11 p.m., sevendays per week and can be accessed by calling 1-833-SASK-VAX (1-833-727-5829).

To book an appointment using the new online system, those eligible will need a valid health card and a cell phone number or email address for notifications to be sent to.

Once the online booking system is in progress, theSHA will phaseout the existing process of direct phone calls to eligible Saskatchewan residents.

Vaccinations

Moe said as of Tuesday the province had administered more than 94,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

That is about 8,000 shots per 100,000 people.

"We now expect to receive about 124,000 doses of vaccine by the end of March," he said. "That's more doses in the next three weeks than we've received in the last three months."

By early April Moe said theyhope to be delivering 10,000 shots perday to people in their 60s.

"All of us are going to get our shots faster than we envisioned, and that's a good thing," he said.

By delaying second shots to people by four months, Moe said all adults in Saskatchewan will be able to get their first dose by early June.

"This is a game-changer for our province and a game-changer for Canada," Moe said.