When the COVID-19 pandemic first began, it was older people who were most at risk for ending up in the hospital and possibly succumbing to the virus, but that has changed. Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer says those that are unvaccinated have a higher risk of contracting and experiencing a more serious case of the virus.

Of the 2,032 confirmed cases reported in June, over 80 per cent were unvaccinated. Fewer than 2 per cent were fully vaccinated, and under five per cent of hospitalizations had both their shots. There were also no admissions to the ICU and no deaths reported for those who had two shots of the COVID-1 vaccine.

Dr. Shahab adds that in Wednesday’s report, 22 of the 53 cases are in people who are 19 and under and 17 cases for ages 20 to 39. He noted a significant outbreak at the Hatchet Lake Densuline  Nation. Dr. Shahab says in the far northeast, the outbreaks in some communities can be attributed to lower vaccination rates, but not in all of them.

Variants of Concern are more prevalent now than the original virus. Shahab points to the Alpha strain mostly in the south, and increasingly seeing the Delta strain in Saskatoon and the far north, and it’s the Gamma strain in the west. However, some clusters may have two or three strains in the same outbreak. The alpha strain is the most prevalent at this time. He emphasizes that the vaccines are effective for all the variants.

Click here to see the statistics: COVID Vaccine and Outcomes_June 2021