Newfoundland and Labrador has received a failing “F” grade from CanAge, Canada’s national seniors advocacy organization, in its third annual Vaccine Report Card.

Seniors make up nearly a quarter of the province’s population so the need for effective vaccination strategies is critical.

The report takes a look at how each province and territory does in terms of the NACI-recommended vaccines including COVID, influenza, shingles and pneumonia. The report finds that we do well with COVID but not the other three.

Laura Watts, the CEO of CanAge, says Newfoundland and Labrador should expand coverage. Take the flu vaccine for example—Watts says it’s a relatively inexpensive fix.

She says the seniors’-specific flu vaccine is only available for people in long-term care, which is important, but that’s a not a significant portion of the population. Watts says the standard vaccine which most get is like taking a children’s Tylenol so it doesn’t really do what we need it to do.