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The upcoming cold and flu season in Saskatchewan may be a doozy.
Speaking on The Evan Bray Show on Oct. 14, 2026, University of Saskatchewan microbiologist Dr. Joseph Blondeau gave a grim forecast following the launch of the fall influenza immunization campaign.
“My prediction is, unfortunately, we might have a rough respiratory virus season this year.”
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He said a public health alert from Health Canada warns of influenza cases appearing weeks before the rollout of flu and COVID-19 vaccination programs.
“Of course, we’re now scrambling to try and get as many people immunized as we can, just in anticipation that this virus was already here.”
Dr. Blondeau strongly encourages people to get vaccinated.
Cold and flu
The virus linked to the common cold is also circulating.
“Rhinovirus is the number one cause of the common cold, and we know it’s quite prevalent,” he explained. “Based on the specimens tested in the laboratory, positivity rates are exceeding 30 per cent.”
Dr. Blondeau said people have begun to notice symptoms at home, work and school.
“A lot of people have been feeling unwell, a little cough, achy, maybe some sniffles and whatnot, and right now we’re seeing a tremendous amount of rhinovirus circulating.”
He warned against lumping cold and flu symptoms together because they often overlap.
Questions about the vaccine
When it comes to what goes into a flu vaccine, Dr. Blondeau said it changes annually to help scientists stay ahead of the curve.
“There are sentinel laboratories around the world, including here in Canada. When we have a positive influenza specimen, we can forward that off to the National Microbiology Laboratory. They’ll actually isolate the virus and type it to see which viruses are circulating.”
He added that information is then provided to pharmaceutical companies that develop vaccines for the coming season.
“This year, we have a trivalent vaccine that contains two strains of influenza A and one strain of influenza B, and this year’s vaccine is a good match based on the strains that are circulating this respiratory season.”
Dr. Blondeau said people can receive both the flu and COVID-19 vaccines during the same appointment.
“Some people might feel a little bit dragged out over the next 24 to 48 hours because your body’s now working after you’ve been immunized and it’s mounting an immune response. But there’s no biological reason why you can’t have both.”
People can book an appointment online with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
