The vast majority of new COVID-19 cases requiring hospitalization and ICU care are in people who are unvaccinated, according to data released October 20 by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).
During a conference call with journalists, Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer, said the province is likely to continue seeing higher numbers in the coming weeks unless the rate of vaccination uptake improves. That ongoing pressure is ‘unsustainable’ for the provincial health care system in general, and ICUs in particular.
It is taking a severe toll on the physical and mental health of front-line health care workers.
“Once you reach that level of cases, then it is unsustainable,” said Shahab. “Other services like surgeries get delayed or cancelled, and as we have seen, patients have to be transferred out of province in order to receive high-quality care.
“Based on the data we’re seeing now on the seven-day average of people being admitted to ICU’s, we’re entering that unsustainable range.”
As of October 20, Saskatchewan had 117 patients in ICUs; with 82 of those patients being COVID-19 cases.
SHA Chief of Emergency Operations Dr. Derek Miller said at the beginning of the fourth wave when health services started being reduced in order to accommodate the surge of COVID-19 patients, the SHA estimated that 800 to 1,000 surgeries per week would be impacted.
SHA modelling data indicates Saskatchewan is seeing an average of nearly 25 new cases of COVID-19 admitted to hospitals across the province every day.
And on average, four patients suffering from COVID-19 are admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in those hospitals.
While vaccination won’t eliminate COVID-19, it will reduce the rate of hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths, said Shahab.
Data provided by the SHA shows that unvaccinated people in Saskatchewan are six times more likely than partially-vaccinated or fully-vaccinated people to contract COVID-19.
Unvaccinated people are also 13 times more likely to require hospitalization; and 28 times more likely to be admitted to ICU.
“Vaccines are extremely effective in preventing hospitalizations and ICU care,” said Shahab. “As we move forward, and a greater portion of the population becomes vaccinated, we’ll still continue to see mild cases.
“The aim of vaccination is to reduce pressure on hospitals and prevent deaths.”
Shahab said people need to be particularly vigilant in the coming months and over the Christmas season.
“Our case numbers are too high for us to relax over the holidays,” said Shahab. “If we work hard to reduce our contacts and follow protocols, we can push our case numbers down. But even then, it will still take several weeks for ICU cases in hospitals to come down.”
Shahab said in addition to following public health orders, Saskatchewan residents can reduce the risk of infection by:
* wearing a face mask in all public spaces,
* reducing close contacts to no more than two or three households on a consistent basis;
* washing hands often;
* staying home with even the mildest symptoms and getting tested;
* getting fully vaccinated as soon as possible.
He noted that vaccination is available at clinics and pharmacies across the province. COVID-19 shots can also be taken at the same time as flu shots.