Mowat said a last-mile strategy would ensure that every Saskatchewan resident has access to both first and second doses of the vaccine and address vaccine hesitancy and accessibility.
Mowat said a recent Angus Reid Poll showed that Saskatchewan has the highest vaccine hesitancy in the country, with indications that vaccine uptake demand across age groups is plateauing.
Meili said the plan would be to reach out to eligible residents who haven’t yet received their first dose, assisting them in making a vaccination plan that works for them. The plan includes educating people on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines while working with key community trusted leaders promoting uptake and acceptability.
Meili also promoted mobile clinics deployed in areas with low vaccine uptake and offered in public spaces, replicating the strategy for the second dose to ensure the highest possible rate for full vaccination.
“We also need to make sure that we trust in the experts to lead these steps and keep the Premiere’s office out of clinical decisions. These measures would go a long way to ensure that everyone in Saskatchewan who wants a vaccine, everyone in our province who could possibly be persuaded to get one to take this life saving step could do so. And that’s what we all want, to move past this pandemic finally and build a better province for everyone. We do that by making it past this last month.”
LMT asked Meili and Mowat how we educate and address people attracted to wild conspiracy theories, such as ideas that the vaccine alters DNA or has some magnetic component.
Meili said that they are very disappointed with the government’s response to the anti-mask protests and what they saw as a minimal response, saying that not only are the protests potential super spreader events, they are also super-spreaders of misinformation. He said the only way to counter that is to get out with good information from trusted sources.
“That’s why we really want to see in this plan an approach where anybody who doesn’t have a vaccine is getting a phone call from somebody who knows the real information and is able to share that; a healthcare worker, a trained person who is able to have the right information. That will help allot of people.”
“The second is to work alongside key community leaders in ethnic communities, in regional communities so that we find people who are trusted locally to be that local voice, reaching out to people in their community who need to hear a different message.”
Meili said that as the province looks towards the possibility of re-opening, people need to keep being reminded that vaccines are not just a way to keep themselves safe but also to get back to the kind of life they want to enjoy.
Mowat said there is a difference between vaccine hesitancy and those who are unwilling. She noted that Saskatchewan is leading the country with those who remain unconvinced to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. She said that while there are people on polar ends of the spectrum, there are people who are just looking for more information, wanting to know that vaccines are safe and have questions answered before they receive a vaccine. “This strategy is about making sure we can connect those individuals with local trusted people who can answer some of those questions.”
Meili said that had been his experience working in vaccine clinics and gave the example of clinics at the Lighthouse and with a refugee health group. “We had lots of people who came in not sure, and then when they had someone right in front of them to ask those questions then suddenly they were keen to make that decision. Again why it’s so important that people just have a chance to ask someone who knows.”
- Jenifer Argue, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Note: These reports may be abridged for content
