Wearing a protective suit and a mask, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy (L) listens to Naohiro Masuda (3rd R), an executive of Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), during her visit to the central control room for the unit one and unit two rea
Wearing a protective suit and a mask, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy (L) listens to Naohiro Masuda (3rd R), an executive of Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), during her visit to the central control room for the unit one and unit two reactors of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture May 14, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Yamanaka/Pool

Saskatchewan health-care workers have been advised to wear mask or get influenza vaccination to avoid the spread of flu.

The Ministry of Health announced the "immunize-or-mask" ultimatum after a recommendation from the Saskatchewan's medical health officers and other professionals in the health industry. Justifying the decision, Dr David Torr, chairperson for Medical Health Officers Council of Saskatchewan, said, "Basically, we as health-care workers and health-care providers strive to make sure we give the best care and strive to minimize diseases and illness that are in the environment and protect not only our patients but our residents and facilities and our staff." He further added, "On top of that, it is pretty common knowledge now that influenza is probably the leading cause of death in Canada from infectious disease. We have done so well in so many other infectious diseases but we still strive and struggle with influenza."

British Columbia was the first to incorporate the "immunize-or-mask" system. However, there was widespread discontentment among health care professionals at the time. Referring to immunise or mask system as extremely critical to reduce the amount of illness and transmission, Torr said, "Many States have been at this for many years and we have been studying a lot about the pros and cons of this kind of measure and we have been advocating for the vaccine for over 30 years."

Dr Mark Vooght, chief medical officer of the Five Hills Health Region (FHHR), said he absolutely supports the immune or mask policy and said that studies have showed that there is 40 per cent reduction in mortality among long-term care residents during flu season when all of the health-care workers have received the flu vaccine. Speaking about the health officials understanding the significance of getting immunised, Stuart Cunningham, vice-president of human resources with the FHHR, said, "We're very hopeful that staff will see the importance of being immunized, and if not ... wear a mask - for their protection, but also for the safety of the patients." He then added, "At the end of the day it will be a policy that we will be looking to enforce, but it will initially be based on the honours system."