Sask. Opposition calls on province to expand COVID-19 booster shot eligibility to all residents 18 and older

Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP is calling on the provincial government to expand the eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots to all residents 18 and older.

"Especially as we see the omicron variant spreading throughout Canada.… We need to make sure we've got a plan to make that fifth wave as minimal as possible," said NDP Leader Ryan Meili at a news conference on Friday morning.

The Opposition's call came alongside the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) releasing new guidance on who should get a booster shot.

In a new report issued Friday, the committee is now strongly recommending all Canadians over the age of 50, along with other vulnerable groups like health-care workers, Indigenous peoples and those living in congregate care settings, get a third dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

NACI is also now recommending the younger cohort — Canadians aged 18 to 49 — get a third mRNA shot at least six months after their second dose. 

Earlier this week, Saskatchewan chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said eligibility could open up for more people in the province in the coming days and weeks.

Currently, people 65 and older provincewide or 50 and older in the northern half of the province are eligible to receive a booster dose, along with health-care workers and people with compromised immune systems.

Shahab said most people are just reaching the point where they are six months past their second dose.

As of Friday morning, the province said it doesn't have any more detail on when booster shot eligibility will expand.

Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba have announced plans to expand booster shot eligibility.