The province’s health minister says “we suck” when it comes to flu vaccination rates among adults.

With self-isolation and physical distancing the order of the day, there are questions about whether measures in place to control the spread of COVID-19 are having an impact on the province’s seasonal flu numbers.

Health Minister Dr. John Haggie says it will be interesting to see how, if at all, those measures have had an impact on influenza numbers.

As of last week, the province’s weekly numbers show 50 new lab-confirmed cases of influenza in the province, for a total of 684 cases. There have been 87 flu-related hospitalizations and nine deaths.

Minister Haggie says while the world awaits a COVID-19 vaccine, the fact remains that Newfoundland and Labrador has poor flu-immunization rates among adults.

NL has some of the highest child vaccination rates in the developed world, but when it comes to adult vaccinations—”We suck.”