Murray Mandryk: Vaccine complacency now the battle

By Murray Mandryk

Vaccines are allowing us to win the COVID-19 as Premier Scott Moe hoped and predicted they would.

This is very good news.

As of the writing of this column, we have just seen the fourth consecutive day of double-digit daily cases, reducing Saskatchewan’s seven-day average to 97 new COVID-19 cases per day.

This is the lowest such average since early November when the first of three major waves hit the province. Those waves peaked at 292 average new cases per day on Dec. 12, 321 on Jan. 12 and 287 on April 16.

While critics of the Saskatchewan Party government point to massive success of the Atlantic provinces, it’s worth noting that Manitoba — with much stricter lockdown measures — spent 46 days this winter with an average daily case counts higher than Saskatchewan’s daily average ever was. It’s also noteworthy that Manitoba has had twice the COVID-19 deaths.

And it’s impossible not to attribute this to success — especially among the more vulnerable older populations — to vaccines.

Again as of the writing of this column, 91 per cent of those 80 years and older have received a first dose while 76 per cent have received a second dose. In the 70- to 80-years-old category, 90 per cent have received a first dose and 54 per cent per cent have received a second dose. In the 60 to 70 years category, 84 per cent have received a first dose and 19 per cent have received a second dose that has just become eligible for this age group.

The tangible result is fewer people dying — only 10 deaths in the first week of June and just 48 deaths in May. That compares with 55 deaths in April, 51 in March, 81 in February, 155 in January and 106 in December. (Up until least December, there had only been 47 deaths in the entire province.)

Compare this with an average winter flu season where — after many also line up for vaccines — we usually have about 10 to 15 deaths and handful of hospitalizations.

This winter, we Regina and Saskatoon hospitals had to re-direct patients elsewhere because they were overrun with COVID-19 cases. Now, we are seeing both active case counts and hospitalizations reduced to levels we haven’t seen since the start of the winter.

Given this success, so it’s rather puzzling why the lines for vaccines aren’t longer.

While older age brackets have taken up the challenge to get their vaccines, younger generations have been more hesitant … or maybe simply more complacent.

In fact, we have had nine straight days now where second doses have out-paced first doses. On the day of the Sask. Party government’s press conference last week, 5, 564 of the 6,742 were second shots.

Also as of the writing of this column, about 40,000 of 147, 466 Saskatchewan people 50 to 59-years-old had not received a shot. Another 50,000 of the 151,896 40 to 49-year-olds were unvaccinated. More than 80,000 of the 184,246 30 to 39-years-old and slightly less than 100,000 of 18 to 29-years were also unvaccinated.

Some of this can be attributed to such age groups becoming eligible more recently, but the carefree, invulnerability of youth is clearly a factor.

And judging by the numbers, it’s appears to another one of those youthful mistakes.

While COVID-19 cases are dropping, it’s those that are unvaccinated who are now getting sick.

May numbers also reveal 5,296 COVID-19 cases — 92 per cent of which were unvaccinated or those who gotten their first dose within the previous three weeks.

“We have an opportunity to basically end the pandemic, the worst aspects of the pandemic, as early as July,” said Saskatchewan Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab last week. “Why wouldn’t we take it?”

It is a very good question.