139 Sask. COVID-19 deaths since start of year, 2 flu deaths

There have been 139 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the year in Saskatchewan, according to the province.

Influenza has claimed two lives over the same period, with the most recent death occurring between May 7 and 13.

That's according to the latest Community Respiratory Illness Surveillance Program report.

The report is the first since the Saskatchewan government announced a move from bi-weekly to monthly COVID-19 reporting.

Between April 23 and May 20, there were 16 COVID-19-related deaths, the report says.

Also during that time, 165 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and there were 21 COVID-19-related intensive care unit (ICU) admissions.

Comparatively, there were 26 hospital admissions due to influenza and four ICU admissions because of flu.

According to the report, COVID-19 vaccination rates are still lagging in Saskatchewan, with 46 per cent of people in the province up-to-date on their vaccines.

The Regina area has the highest local COVID-19 vaccination rate in Saskatchewan, sitting at 52 per cent.

The rate of residents over the age of 12 who have received a bivalent vaccine dose, designed specifically to fight off the dominant Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to stagnate — sitting at 21 per cent.

According to the report, just seven per cent of residents over the age of five have received a booster dose in the past six months.

The report says having a COVID-19 booster in the last six months reduces the risk of death by four times compared to unvaccinated individuals and by more than two times compared to someone without a booster dose.