People in Sask. can now book their fall flu and COVID-19 shots. Here's what you should know
CBC
People in Saskatchewan can now book their fall flu and COVID-19 shots online or over the phone.
Appointments are available at public health clinics, pharmacies and some doctors' offices across the province starting next Tuesday, the province said in a news release.
The vaccine targeting the Omicron XBB.1.5 COVID-19 subvariant is part of Saskatchewan's fall immunization program.
Both shots are free and can be administered at the same appointment.
"I think getting both the COVID-19 updated vaccine and the influenza vaccine together is perfectly fine," Nazeem Muhajarine, an epidemiologist at the University of Saskatchewan, said in a Wednesday interview with CBC Radio's The Morning Edition.
"It's a personal choice though. If you did have some reaction for either one of those two vaccines in the past, getting one at a time would be probably what you'd want to do."
Muhajarine says Saskatchewan has one of the lowest vaccination uptake rates out of the Canadian provinces. He recommends everyone get their shots, even if they consider themselves healthy.
The Ministry of Health says getting influenza and COVID-19 vaccines is the best way to limit transmission rates this fall and winter.
"It's important to remember that you're not only protecting yourself against illness — you're protecting your family and friends as well," Saskatchewan Health Minister Everett Hindley said in Tuesday's news release.
"Getting immunized is proven in the fight against illness and will help keep you and your loved ones healthy."
The health ministry recommends all high-risk groups of people get their flu shot as soon as possible. The most vulnerable include seniors, people with chronic health conditions or compromised immune systems, children younger than five and pregnant women.
Children under five can only get their flu shots at a Saskatchewan Health Authority public flu clinic, public health office, or from a physician or nurse practitioner.
New COVID-19 subvariants have emerged since COVID-19 vaccines first became available.
Muhajarine says it's important that people stay up to date with their vaccines, because updated shots provide better protection against newer subvariants like Omicron XBB.1.5
A new study by biologists at the University of Victoria has revealed why the simple back-and-forth motion of drift logs on B.C. beaches has destroyed critical ecosystems that keep the ocean healthy.
According to Niagara native, Lindsay Davies, the complaint that Ontario is a boring province when it comes to outdoor adventures is just plain wrong.
As of Jan. 1, most job postings in Ontario need to include salary figures, carbon monoxide alarms need to be on every level of a home and municipalities are now out of the recycling business.
Hundreds of medical school graduates, donning their hard-earned white coats, start their residencies every summer, during which they take on at least a few more years of training in a specialized field, like surgery or pediatrics, before they're licensed to practise.
Unreserved spoke to many acclaimed Indigenous authors in 2025. Each shared a few lessons that help them navigate life’s challenges and joys.
If you thought December seemed colder and snowier than usual, you're right.
Theodore has once again claimed the top spot as the most popular baby name on Prince Edward Island in 2025.
When you think about diversity in Toronto, things like its food, neighbourhoods or people probably come to mind. What you might not picture is the team working to maintain a key aspect of the city that impacts everyone: its ecological diversity.
The first weekend of the new year is going out with a bang and will likely leave the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador wrapped in a blanket of snow.
WARNING: This story contains references to and images of antisemitic symbols.
After a devastating fire destroyed Prince Albert’s Salvation Army building on Christmas night, the charity has found a space to lease in the northern Saskatchewan city’s downtown.
Mayor Andrew Knack had a rollercoaster 2025.
A coastal flooding alert is in place this weekend for B.C.’s South Coast, including Metro Vancouver and parts of southern Vancouver Island.