Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer, says hospitalizations due to the flu are outnumbering those for COVID. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME file photo)

By CKOM News

Influenza

Saskatchewan reports five flu-related deaths in two-week span

Nov 26, 2023 | 3:44 PM

Influenza has hit Saskatchewan hard in recent weeks, with the virus claiming the lives of five people and case numbers rising rapidly.

The latest Community Respiratory Illness Surveillance Program (CRISP) report from Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health said there were three flu-related deaths in the province in the week of Nov. 5-11 and two between Nov. 12 and last Saturday.

The number of lab-confirmed flu cases climbed from 42 in the week of Oct. 22-28 to 594 in the week that ended Saturday. The test-positivity rate for influenza rose from 4.4 per cent to 31.0 per cent in that same span.

Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province’s chief medical health officer, said Friday the deaths were mostly in the older population, with people who have various other underlying conditions.

Shahab noted it appears the number of influenza cases is surpassing COVID-19 cases in hospitals right now.

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“This is the first time, I think since, the (COVID-19) pandemic began that we’re seeing more hospitalizations due to influenza than due to COVID,” explained Shahab. “I think this is the first time influenza has been neck and neck with COVID or higher.”

Hospital admissions due to the flu rose from 15 in the week of Oct. 22-28 to 127 last week. In that same time frame, flu-related admissions to ICUs in the province went from one to 20.

The CRISP report noted there were 97 people in Saskatchewan hospitals with COVID last week, with four people in ICU.

Shahab said Saskatchewan had an early flu season and a late COVID-19 season last year. He suggested that this year, that has been flipped around.

“This year, we had COVID starting earlier and COVID has kind of plateaued at the moment and influenza has picked up over the last three to four weeks,” he stated.

“I think this is like a regular respiratory season like we used to have before, but now the only difference is we have two respiratory viruses (influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus) as well as COVID,” he added.

As of last Saturday, 18.9 per cent of people in Saskatchewan had received a flu shot this season. Shahab recommended everyone who’s eligible get a flu shot to prevent any further illnesses.

As for why it appears the flu has surpassed COVID cases this season, Shahab suggested that people being vaccinated, along with stronger immunity in the population because of other contagious variants, could be the reason why COVID might not be as prevalent this time around.

Shahab also suggested that to prevent the spread of the flu or COVID, people should stay home if they’re sick and consider wearing a mask if they’re around someone who might be vulnerable.

The CRISP report

While the number of lab-confirmed flu cases skyrocketed, instances of COVID stayed relatively steady.

Between Oct. 29 and Nov. 4, there were 442 COVID cases detected in labs in the province. After rising to 496 in the first full week of November, that number fell to 426 in the week ending last Saturday.

The COVID test-positivity rate fell from 15.7 per cent in the week ending Nov. 4 to 13.9 per cent last week.

There were three COVID-related deaths in the province in the week of Nov. 5-11 and one in the week ending Saturday. Since the start of the pandemic, 2,022 Saskatchewan residents have died due to the virus.

According to the report, 14.7 per cent of Saskatchewan residents over the age of six months have received a COVID vaccine since Sept. 18. That’s when the latest vaccines were delivered to the province.

As for the flu, five regions – far northwest (50 per cent), far northeast (64.4 per cent), north-central (50.4 per cent), northeast (59.1 per cent) and Saskatoon (33.2 per cent) – reported a test-positivity rate higher than the provincial average of 31 per cent.

The number of lab-confirmed RSV cases rose from eight in the last full week of October to 28 last week. RSV-related hospitalizations rose from two to seven in that same span.

The report said total hospital admissions for respiratory viruses increased 35 per cent over the past two weeks.

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Shane Clausing