(CJME News staff)

By Lisa Schick/ CJME News

Sask. Medical Association disappointed, alarmed by premier’s comments

Feb 1, 2022 | 5:04 PM

On Tuesday, the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) put out a news release basically shaking its head at Premier Scott Moe and urging him to reconsider recent decisions and remarks.

On the weekend, the premier promised to remove the COVID-19 vaccination or test mandate, and on Monday he doubled down on that position, saying it could happen before the end of February.

In the SMA’s statement, it said doctors are disappointed and alarmed at the premier’s statements, and asked the government to continue on with current restrictions. The association also took issue with Moe’s statements claiming the COVID vaccine doesn’t protect against the spread of the currently dominant Omicron variant.

“The premier’s statements continue to ignore the advice of medical experts at a time when COVID-19 hospitalizations have reached their highest levels since the start of the pandemic,” wrote Dr. Eben Strydom, president of the SMA.

“It shows no empathy for the thousands of health-care workers who are bearing the unrelenting weight of caring for such high volumes of COVID-19 patients and the impact that has on other health services.”

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Given that hospitalizations hit a pandemic high on Monday and then exceeded that Tuesday, Strydom said the premier’s comments couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Strydom said the government needs to send a consistent and accurate message on vaccines, pointing to evidence that vaccination is about 90 per cent effective at reducing the severity of COVID illness, and about 60 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic infection with the third dose.

In the statement, Strydom said the government should only consider lifting measures when COVID cases are steadily declining, when hospitalizations are down to the low double-digits, and when there are fewer than 10 people with COVID in the ICU.

“It is too soon to loosen or remove public health measures. Why take that chance now? Why further strain the health-care system and those who work in it, after all that we have been through?” Strydom asked in the news release.

“Rather than picking an arbitrary date for changing public health measures, the government should use clear goals and targets as the triggers. Physicians expect and citizens deserve government decisions be based on sound medical science, not personal preference or political expediency.”