The government of Saskatchewan recently warned of high COVID-19 transmission in southern communities with low vaccine rates. 

Medical Health Officer for the Weyburn area, Dr. Enebli talked about the reasons we could be seeing lower vaccination rates.  

“It could be the side effects to the vaccines, it could be people who are a bit hesitant, but we've had these vaccines now with us for many, many months and there is a lot of research and also monitoring or surveillance just to make sure that these vaccines are continuously safe."

Dr. Enebli talked about the goal for vaccination in this area. 

“We want to approach at least 85 per cent. We do know that vaccines are effective and it's one of the tools that we have got to combat this virus.” 

He also shared some advice. 

“I just want us to be mindful of the number of gatherings, especially when you have people from different households gathering together. I mean, we can in a respectful manner, try and find out if these individuals are vaccinated, you, know, coming into your household just to minimize the risk of spread.” 

As of Monday evening, 66.07 per cent of those in southern Saskatchewan are fully vaccinated.