Successful door-to-door vaccine clinic in La Loche

As part of its effort to vaccinate as many people as possible in the province against COVID-19, Saskatchewan Health Authority staff carried out a door-to-door immunization campaign in the village of La Loche and surrounding communities June 3-4. 

Over the two days, staff were able to provide COVID-19 vaccines to 244 people in the area. Jennifer Ahenakew, Executive Director of Primary Health Care for the Northwest North said it was “a total community effort as our SHA staff worked closely with local leaders and community organizations to assist with the effort.”

The effort included finding translators to go door-to-door with the SHA vaccination teams to assist with people who do not speak English. 
“We know that communities in the far north of our province face issues that are not widely seen in other communities in the province, and we know through our past work in the area that transportation, even in a small community, can be a barrier to accessing care,” Ahenakew explained as to why they decided to offer this option to those in La Loche.

The vaccine teams gained a sense of inspiration from the initiative, hearing from many people that the door-to-door campaign offered a more private environment and there was more willingness to receive the vaccine from those they visited. The local team is now in preliminary discussions about expanding the program to other communities.