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COVID-19 Weekly EPI Report

Released on April 28, 2022

Expanding Paxlovid Eligibility

Effective immediately, eligibility for Paxlovid treatment will be extended to all those who test positive (PCR or rapid test) with mild or moderate COVID-19 symptoms who are immunocompromised or 70 years and older with designated risk factors, regardless of vaccination status. 

This is in addition to adults who are 18-54 years of age and are not fully vaccinated with a medical condition that puts them at high risk for severe outcomes, or are 55 to 69 years of age and are not fully vaccinated.

By blocking viral replication, early antiviral treatments aim to reduce the amount of COVID-19 virus the body has to fight but they are only effective when initiated in the first few days of infection.  For Paxlovid, you must be within five days of developing symptoms.

If you test positive on a rapid antigen or PCR test, check to determine if you are eligible for COVID-19 treatments now available and contact HealthLine 811 for an assessment.

The Ministry of Health is working with physicians and pharmacists to enable more providers to be able to prescribe Paxlovid.  Details on that expansion will be announced in a public release. 

Treatment for COVID-19 does not offer equal protection to vaccination. Getting your first, second and all recommended booster doses remains the most effective intervention to reduce risk of hospitalization and other severe outcomes from COVID-19. Find a vaccination clinic near you.

AstraZeneca Unavailable as of April 30

The provincial supply of AstraZeneca vaccine expires as of April 30 and the Government of Canada will not be securing additional doses. 

If you are seeking AstraZeneca to complete your primary, two dose vaccination series or for a booster dose, contact 1-833-SaskVax (727-5829) to book your appointment immediately. 

Note that all of the vaccines being administered are effective and approved by Health Canada for use and NACI has approved the interchangeability of COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in Canada. Anyone who received AstraZeneca is eligible to receive an mRNA or protein-based vaccine for additional doses to ensure optimal protection against COVID-19, unless contraindicated.

Weekly COVID-19 Epi Report 

Issued Thursdays, the Ministry of Health's COVID-19 integrated epidemiology (epi) report utilizes multiple data sources and includes laboratory-confirmed cases, deaths, tests, vaccination information provincially and by zones, as well as hospital and ICU census trends and distribution of rapid antigen tests. The epi report this week looks at data from Sunday, April 17 to Saturday, April 23, 2022. The hospitalization data is a comparison from April 20 to 27, 2022.

The integrated epi report can be found online at saskatchewan.ca/COVID-19-cases.

Summary for the week of April 17-23, 2022

  • 6,951 laboratory tests were performed in Saskatchewan reflecting 5.8 tests performed per 1,000 population. The number of tests was lower than the number of tests in the previous week (7,354).
  • Slightly more than one in nine laboratory tests were positive for a weekly test positivity of 11.7 per cent, which was unchanged from the previous week. 
  • 829 new cases were confirmed reflecting about 0.7 laboratory-confirmed cases per 1,000 population.
  • The number of new laboratory-confirmed cases was lower than the number of new cases in the previous week (889).
  • There were 264 new lineage results reported this week. Of the 264 variants of concern identified by whole genome sequencing, 100 per cent were Omicron. 
  • The Omicron BA.2 sublineage accounted for 69.7 per cent of the variants of concern reported this week which was higher compared to the previous week. 
  • There were 14 newly-reported COVID-19 deaths, 30 per cent lower than in the previous week (20).
  • During the two months period from February 13 to April 16, 2022, the risk of hospitalization, ICU admission and death was five, nine and seven times higher respectively among unvaccinated individuals compared to those vaccinated with three doses.
  • There were 44.4 COVID-like illness patients per 1,000 emergency department visits which was higher than the average weekly rate in the previous six weeks (34.4 per week/1,000 visits).   
  • 22 confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care and care home settings were reported this week. 
  • As of April 23, 2022, of the population five years and older, 85.8 per cent received at least one dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine and 80.8 per cent completed a series.
  • Among the population 18 years and older, 51.8 per cent had received at least one booster vaccination. 
  • As of the week of April 25, there have been 286 Paxlovid prescriptions and one Remdesivir treatment provided.
  • More than 19.9 million rapid antigen test kits have been distributed in the province. They are easily accessible at more than 600 locations.

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For more information, contact:

Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083
Email: media@health.gov.sk.ca


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