A steady stream of individuals flooded into Regina’s International Trade Centre on Wednesday.
Some waited in line for booster injections, some for a third shot to ease travel while restrictions remain in place, and still others for their first vaccine shot.
As we battle the fourth wave of COVID-19, politicians continue to urge vaccination skeptics to get the injection.
The overall number of people fully vaccinated in Saskatchewan has increased by 7% in the last 30 days.
Current COVID-19 restrictions and health measures seem to be working, but vaccination rates could be higher across Saskatchewan.
Some political experts say that for numbers to continue trending upward, trusted communication from leaders within the community is key to getting more of the unvaccinated population vaccinated.
Pamela Downe, University of Saskatchewan medical anthropology professor, says, “When leaders insert themselves and are accepted as a central part of society, they can make all kinds of changes and influential moments forward.”
“When that one leader, when that one person who people trust begins to role-model the ways in which we can move out of the pandemic, or recover from a natural disaster, or whatever the occasion may be, you can definitely see that trickle-down effect.”
At this point in the pandemic, that could be difficult in Saskatchewan.
An Angus-Reid poll on Canadian leaders shows Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s approval rating slipping to 43 per cent, a drop of 18 points since June 2021.
“What you’re actually seeing generally is simply a natural fatigue with government,” says Kim Coates, a public policy professor at the University of Saskatchewan. How many orders can we handle? How many assurances are we going to get? How many times can we change our habits? “Can we put ourselves on lockdown and then come out of it?”
Political experts believe that when leaders inspire and motivate people to look at any phenomenon in a new light, the community will gradually shift, and that by earning the trust of vaccine skeptics, they will shift the collective mindset, potentially leading to more people visiting vaccination clinics across the province.
Source_ the Canadian Press
