Proof of Full COVID-19 Vaccination Policy Directive
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has developed a Proof of Full COVID-19 Vaccination policy that is effective immediately. The policy requires all team members to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination by early November – the date will be announced in the coming weeks. You are NOT required to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination on Oct. 1.
We are implementing this policy now because we do not believe that we can provide a safe workplace any longer without our health care teams being fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Delta variant is dominant in the province causing unprecedented stress on our provincial health system. Since July there has been a thousand percent increase in COVID-19 cases. During that time COVID hospitalizations and ICU admissions have tripled.
Despite efforts to make immunization easy as possible, one in five health-care workers are not vaccinated. There have been multiple scenarios recently where unvaccinated team members have introduced COVID-19 infection into the settings we serve across the SHA, resulting in COVID-19 exposures and infections.
Unvaccinated team members put themselves, patients, and the health system at very high risk. We must do everything we can to protect our health care teams, patients, residents and families against the unchecked spread of COVID-19. Vaccines are proven to significantly reduce COVID transmission, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and fatalities.
As of Monday, October 4 you will be asked to voluntarily self-declare your vaccination status, which will allow us to prepare for the implementation of the program that will record your proof of full COVID-19 vaccination documentation. Please be sure to submit your self-declaration by the deadline of October 15, 2021.
Team members who are unable to be fully vaccinated can apply for accommodation. Any staff who are not fully vaccinated by the deadline in November will be required to undergo regular testing. Unvaccinated team members who have not received an accommodation will be required to pay for their testing materials.
Your COVID-19 Vaccination Record can be obtained via MySaskHealthRecord, and team members who do not yet have an account are strongly encouraged to begin the registration process immediately so as obtain your proof of vaccination. You are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after completing your second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in a two-dose series – such as Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca – or a single dose of an approved one-dose vaccine.
More detailed work is underway on the policy, as well as the work standards, procedures and protocols to support its implementation. Details will be shared with SHA team members as soon as they become available.
If you have any immediate question or concerns, please talk to your supervisor or manager.
Please visit the Government of Saskatchewan COVID-19 Vaccine website for more information on how to book your vaccination.
