'Why are we waiting until now?': Doctor grills Shahab about his part in Sask.'s 4th wave response

Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab,found himself on the defensive Thursday night during a meeting with fellow physicians.

The Saskatchewan HealthAuthority (SHA) hosts virtual town halls on Thursdays for doctorsworking through the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a forum for doctors to trade stories and advice, as well as learn the latest epidemiologicalstatistics on the virus's growing footprint in the province.

Videos of the town halls are then publicly posted the next day.

One of the participants on Thursday, Dr. Brent Thoma, asked why doctors should continue to place their trust in Shahaband other leaders, given that the province only moved on Thursday to mandate masks and announce a proof-of-vaccination program, despite doctors warningShahab and Premier Scott Moe weeks earlierabout the worseningCOVID-19 situation in Saskatchewan.

"As we saw these numbers worsen we didn't hear from you," Thomasaid, referencing a letter medical health officers sent Shahab and the Saskatchewan government on Aug. 26 outlining more than a dozen further steps the province could take to battle the fourth wave.

The fourth wave took hold after Saskatchewan dropped all of its COVID-19 public health orders on July 11.

"We didn't see action," Thoma said of the letter, adding that recentinfection numbers in the province are "a disaster."

"Why are we waiting until now [to do] even the most basic public health measures enacted throughout almost the rest of the country?"

WATCH|Sask. might need help from other provinces with COVID-19 surge

Sask. might need help from other provinces with COVID-19 surge

3 years ago

Duration 5:09

Dr. Susan Shaw, chief medical officer of Saskatchewan Health Authority says the province is not in a place to offer help to Alberta at this time, and that Saskatchewan may need to look to other provinces for assistance as well.

Shahab responds

Shahab is a government appointee. He can make public health recommendations to Premier Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan government, but it's up to the government whether to adopt those suggestions.

• OPINION: Medical health officers should be fully independent

Shahab responded by acknowledging the importance of consulting medical health officers.

"But decisions that are legislative, that have societal impact beyond the health system, are complex decisions and not mine alone," Shahab said.

"There's lots of things which are not in our individual hands as clinicians...." he said. "It's not just my role, but the role of government, the elected government, to think ofall aspects. And ultimately, it will make the decision that it was elected to make."

In a news conference earlier on Thursday, Shahaband Moe were asked if they felt, in retrospect, that the province should not have dropped its COVID-19 rules on July 11.

Shahab said he and Moe still cautioned people at the time to wear masks in crowded indoor spaces.

He suggested officials hadperhaps been too hopeful that some of the practices enforced during earlierwaves of the pandemic, including masks, would rub off on people even if the government no longer required them.

"I think one mistake is that one hoped that behaviours that we had learned over 16 months would continue. But they got dropped very quickly. And now you're back to an order for mandatory mask use."

Vaccine hesitancy and misinformation have also contributed to Saskatchewan's"stagnated" vaccination rate in recent weeks, Shahab said.

Low vaccination rates in some parts of the province have happened despite the province and partnersgoing "out of their way to address complacency and convenience," he said.