Flu and COVID-19 vaccine bookings open across west-central Saskatchewan - WestCentralOnline

Quebecers can now schedule their fall vaccinations against influenza, COVID-19 and RSV, as health officials warn flu season could arrive earlier than usual this year. Appointments opened Tuesday, with vaccinations beginning Oct. 20. The province is urging people at greater risk of serious illness to get vaccinated early, while changes to this year’s campaign mean some Quebecers will no longer qualify for a free flu shot.

SaskatchewanCold and flu have begun circulating and a Saskatoon medical health officer is encouraging people to get vaccinated early. Bookings are now open for vaccines. Too early to know how bad flu and COVID season may be, health officer saysEmma Stuart-Kiss · CBC News · Posted: Oct 06, 2026 12:38 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 6Listen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. Bookings for flu and COVID vaccinations opened in Saskatchewan on Tuesday. (pixabay.com)Saskatchewan has opened bookings for flu and COVID-19 vaccines. The flu has been circulating this past month, with some parts of the country experiencing an early start to flu season. Health Canada reported 815 confirmed influenza cases for the week ending Sept. 26, compared to 291 in the week ending Sept. 5. "We are beginning to have increased activity in the community, so more people getting sick, also getting some outbreaks earlier on," said Dr. Vivian Onaemo, a medical health officer based in Saskatoon, who leads the city's public immunizations.

Bioengineer.org news storyFor people living with HIV, modern antiretroviral therapy can suppress the virus to levels below what standard laboratory tests can detect. Yet some patients on long-term treatment experience a curious phenomenon: a single test result showing a small, transient amount of virus in the blood, followed by an immediate return to undetectable levels. These events, known as viral blips, have puzzled clinicians and researchers for years, raising questions about whether they represent harmless statistical noise, brief bursts of viral production from hidden reservoirs, or early warnings of impending treatment failure. A new nationwide Swedish study, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, offers one of the most comprehensive answers to date. Drawing on the Swedish national InfCareHIV cohort, researchers analyzed data from 4,210 treatment-naïve adults who began antiretroviral therapy from 1 January 2007 onward, with follow-up data extracted through 30 September 2020. The median observation time was 5.5 years, with some individuals followed for as long as 13.7 years.

European Medical Journal news storyPeople living with HIV may experience subtle changes in heart muscle function even when conventional measures of cardiac performance remain normal, according to findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Researchers identified significantly impaired global longitudinal strain (GLS) among people with HIV compared with HIV-uninfected individuals, despite preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in both groups. The findings suggest that speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) could provide additional information about early myocardial dysfunction in this population. Read the full news story here.

Among cancer patients, the high financial cost of cancer care is a prevalent problem. This financial burden is also associated with potentially harmful behavioral strategies that patients might use to cope with costs, such as delaying or forgoing treatment and skipping medications. Collectively, researchers refer to this impact as financial toxicity.