According to the Saskatchewan NDP, the province’s vaccination numbers are “brutal”, and the government needs to step in.

A release from the NDP calls on the province to launch an emergency flu shot campaign, as only 20 per cent of Saskatchewan people got their seasonal flu vaccine this year according to Health Canada.

The NDP explains that the data also shows the province has “widespread” influenza activity in every health region, and increasing demand is overrunning hospitals across the province.

The Opposition’s release continues that Saskatchewan was the only province with widespread influenza activity – the most severe rating – in all of its health regions.

Health Critic Meara Conway says, “This can be a matter of life and death – influenza is no joke.”

In response, the Ministry of Health released a statement saying “The Government of Saskatchewan, in partnership with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority and Indigenous Services Canada, ran a campaign twice this fall to promote flu vaccines. The first round of the campaign ran in October and the second from mid-November to early December. In addition, medical health officers, including Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab, have been speaking with media outlets in recent days to encourage flu vaccinations.”