Last month, the community of Stanley Mission in Northern Saskatchewan had a significant COVID-19 outbreak affecting about 120 people. As of Friday, the number of cases was down to 25.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
In Stanley Mission, a First Nations community in Northern Saskatchewan, health workers are going door to door to talk to residents about the COVID-19 vaccine, offering rides to appointments and addressing concerns community members may have about the shot – and they’re doing this important work in Cree.
Their initiative is critical: COVID-19 infections have been surging in Saskatchewan for months after the province was among a handful to do away with most public-health measures in the summer. The province has started flying critically ill COVID-19 patients to Ontario because its hospitals are overwhelmed, and it has asked the federal government for pandemic aid, including military support.
Saskatchewan has among the lowest vaccination rates of any province or territory – about 78 per cent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated compared with a high of 90 per cent or more in the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Prince Edward Island.
The challenge is particularly acute in Northern Saskatchewan, where vaccination rates are as low as 55 per cent in the far north regions
The rate is higher in Stanley Mission, where 76 per cent are fully vaccinated and 87 per cent have received one dose, local Indigenous leaders say. Last month, the community of about 1,600 people had a significant COVID-19 outbreak affecting about 120 people. As of Friday, the number of cases was down to 25.
“The pandemic team has been working around the clock to help support the ones that are positive with COVID and the close contacts, and making sure that they’re isolating, providing them with the supports they need to be isolating at home,” said Tammy Cook-Searson, Chief of the area’s Lac La Ronge Indian Band.
Crowded housing has fuelled the spread of the infectious disease. In the North, there may be 10 people living in a three-bedroom house with one bathroom, which makes isolating difficult.
“That’s why we always try and promote the vaccines because it is our only way out,” said Ms. Cook-Searson.
Saskatchewan Health Authority considering next stage of triage plan amid COVID-19 crisis
Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer breaks down while presenting COVID-19 modelling
Stanley Mission and Lac La Ronge are part of the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority. This is a place where COVID-19 has hit especially hard – and it is also a place where many people are not getting vaccinated. A mistrust of the health care system, a general misunderstanding of health information and the spread of false information about the vaccines are contributing to northern residents not getting vaccinated.
Nnamdi Ndubuka, Medical Health Officer with the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority, based in Prince Albert, said some communities have a low vaccination coverage – many are below 50 per cent. He said there is a concern around the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. There have been lottery draws for big-ticket items, mobile clinics, and the use of TikTok and social media to encourage younger people to get the shot and dispel any myths about the vaccine.
“COVID knows no boundary, on or off reserve,” says Dr. Ndubuka.
Eight patients with COVID-19 have been transferred to Ontario for treatment, the provincial government reported Sunday.
Ms. Cook-Searson said the thought of potentially moving Cree elders to as far as Ontario for treatment worries her.
“Their first language is Cree and that’s what they’re comfortable with, is having care in Cree and having somebody speak Cree to them and being close,” she said.
Current public-health orders include a mask mandate in public indoor places and proof-of-vaccination or a negative test to enter restaurants, bars, casinos, movie theatres, gyms, concert venues and ticketed sporting events. But many doctors have been calling for tougher restrictions to curtail infections for several weeks.
Alexander Wong, an infectious-disease physician in Regina, said the No. 1 problem is the Saskatchewan government has not pushed forward any additional public-health measures.
“We have no indoor gathering restrictions of any sort, despite having the highest case rates, despite having our ICUs overwhelmed,” said Dr. Wong. “Our contact-tracing, our public-health staff is completely overwhelmed as well, it’s almost not helpful at this point in time.”
NDP Opposition Leader Ryan Meili, a family physician who has helped throughout the pandemic, said health care workers on the front lines are feeling overwhelmed and desperate. The NDP is urging the province to bring in limits on gathering sizes.
The government, however, has so far rebuffed calls for more restrictions and is mainly relying on vaccinations to bring down infections and hospitalizations.
Saskatchewan’s battle with COVID-19 brought tears to the eyes of the province’s Chief Medical Officer, Saqib Shahab, last week. While many provinces have tamed the fourth wave of the pandemic, recent modelling shows hospitalizations in the province will continue to increase until December unless restrictions such as a limit on gathering sizes are reintroduced. Many surgeries have been cancelled to free up space and staff to care for COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Shahab said it is distressing to see young, unvaccinated people ending up in intensive-care units and dying from a preventable disease in a country where vaccines have been widely available since July.
“Our increase in vaccinations for first dose has slowed down, and we are increasing it by less than 1 per cent a week,” Dr. Shahab said at a pandemic briefing. “That is not fast enough to have an impact on the fourth wave.”
Editor’s note: This version has been updated to clarify the vaccination rate in Stanley Mission.
With a report from The Canadian Press
Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.