To get as many people vaccinated against COVID-19 as possible, the opposition New Democrats are calling for a strategy that includes reaching out to those who haven鈥檛 gotten a first dose.
Within that strategy, the NDP also called on the provincial government to train those callers to address questions about vaccine safety and efficacy, work with trusted community leaders to promote vaccine acceptability and uptake, and deploy mobile clinics to areas where there鈥檚 been low vaccine uptake.
鈥淲e need to make sure that this vaccine effort is as successful as possible by getting as many people vaccinated as possible and put this pandemic behind us,鈥� said Ryan Meili, the NDP鈥檚 leader, in a May 21 media conference. 鈥淭hat's why we're calling on the Sask. Party to put forth a last-mile plan to get us to herd immunity.鈥�
The NDP is calling for the province to repeat the steps of the strategy as necessary to get people to get a second dose, as well as keeping the premier鈥檚 office away from making clinical decisions.
鈥淭hese measures would go a long way to ensuring that everyone in Saskatchewan who wants a vaccine, everyone in this province who could possibly be persuaded to get one, to take this life-saving step, can do so,鈥� Meili said.
In a media release, the NDP expressed concern about vaccine hesitancy in the province, pointing to an . The nationwide survey had a sample size of 1,319 people questioned online from May 14 to 16. Nine per cent nationally said that they wouldn鈥檛 get a vaccine. In Saskatchewan, which had a sample size of 104, that number was 20 per cent, the highest of all the provinces.
Meili said the only way to counter misinformation contributing to vaccine hesitancy is to get out good information from trusted sources.
鈥淭hat's what we really want to see in this plan: an approach where anybody who doesn't have a vaccine is getting a phone call from someone who knows the real information, and is able to share that.鈥�
The NDP leader said the province needs to talk about what鈥檚 gained by getting vaccinated: being able to reopen, reconnect to family and friends, and to get back to normal.
When asked if there should be punitive measures to get people to get vaccinated, Meili said there isn鈥檛 a need to use any threats. Instead, the province should be looking at further incentives. Meili said he was open to whatever made it fun and engaging, suggesting giving a coupon for free ice cream after a shot or getting a chance to get a free Roughriders ticket.
鈥淚 think we need to be creative right now because this is so important. It's not something to mess around with. We should do everything we can to entice and encourage people to get the shot, which is good for them, which is good for all of us.鈥�
