Stick it to COVID: Increasing the Number of Residents Eligible for Booster Doses

Released on December 7, 2021

Recommended Interval Reduced From Six to Five Months 

Effectively immediately the following groups who have received two doses of a Health Canada-approved COVID-19 vaccine are eligible to receive their COVID-19 booster dose five months following their second dose:

• Individuals aged 50 years and older
• Individuals 18 years and older living in the far north and those living on First Nation communities
• All health care workers
• Individuals born in 2009 or earlier with underlying health conditions that are clinically extremely vulnerable, including those with diabetes

To see all groups currently eligible to receive booster and third doses and the approved interval, visit Saskatchewan.ca/covid-19.

Additional age groups will be added, with the target of making boosters available to all Saskatchewan residents 18 years and older early in 2022. Presently, there are more than 530,000 vaccination doses in the province.

Why get a booster dose?
If you have received two doses of the two dose vaccines (Pfizer BionTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna) or one dose of the single dose vaccine (Janssen), you are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving your last dose.

However, it has been observed that individuals may experience waning immunity due to factors like age or underlying conditions that impact the body's ability to mount a strong immune response to the vaccines. Fully vaccinated individuals are also at-risk of potential breakthrough infections based on the rate of community transmission. 

Electing to receive a booster dose may increase your long-term immune response and provide further protection against COVID-19 transmission. It will decrease the risk of contracting COVID-19 and, if you do contract COVID-19, will reduce the risk that you become seriously ill.

If you have already received a third or booster dose (i.e., for travel purposes), you do not require a fourth vaccination at this time. 

Booking Your Booster Dose
You may receive your booster dose through any Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA) clinic currently as well as through participating pharmacies.  Information on booking an appointment or clinics near you is available at saskatchewan.ca/covid-19.

Please do not book your booster dose prior to your five-month eligibility.  The date of your last dose will be verified at the point of immunization and if it has not been five months since your last dose, you will not be able to receive your immunization.  You can find the date of your last dose on your COVID-19 vaccination wallet card or on your COVID-19 QR code app. 

Did not receive an mRNA vaccine?
For persons who received two doses of AstraZeneca, it is recommended that a third, mRNA booster dose be given five months following the second dose, regardless of age.  Residents will only be able to receive AstraZenca as a booster if there is a documented medical contraindication to an mRNA vaccine. 

Persons who have received an AstraZeneca dose followed by an mRNA dose and have not received additional doses for travel purposes can also receive a booster dose five months after their second dose.

Those who have received a Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) single dose are eligible to receive an mRNA booster dose two months after your first dose.

General COVID-19 Information

General public inquiries may be directed to COVID19@health.gov.sk.ca.

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