The slow but steady lowering of the age of eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine got a lot less slow in the last two weeks, and the pace is really picking up now. As of this morning, anyone age 26 or over who hasn't received their first dose of the vaccine is now eligible to get it. 

"We will lower the age of eligibility to 26 province-wide and then down to 23 on Friday, 20 on Sunday, and so on," said Premier Scott Moe. "I'm also very pleased to announce the Saskatoon drive-thru clinic will reopen (today) and the Regina clinic will reopen on Thursday."

The lowering age of vaccine eligibility and the increased use of drive-thru sites will, the province hopes, get the percentage of the population vaccinated up. All of the province's reopening thresholds are set based on the percentage of the population to receive their first vaccine dose.

"On Sunday, we reached our first reopening threshold," Moe said. "70 percent of everyone over the age of 40 has received their first shot. We are making good progress on step two of our threshold. As of today, 61 percent of Saskatchewan residents age 30 and over have also received their first shot."

Moe encouraged young people to get vaccinated at the same rate the older portion of the province had been doing so. According to the latest data from the province, 88 percent of the population over the age of 80 has received their first dose of the vaccine. A quarter of them are fully vaccinated. 

"We need everyone to get vaccinated so we can get back to normal so we can do all of the things we have missed out on doing over the course of the past 14 months," Moe said. "So please, when it's your turn, regardless of your age, get vaccinated."

Moe added everyone in Saskatchewan is eligible to take three hours out of their work day to get vaccinated. He also said he hoped every employer in the province would be encouraging their staff to get the first dose of the vaccine.