Saskatchewan Health Authority says measles can be prevented by the safe, effective and free measles vaccine and with two doses, the vaccination is almost 100 per-cent effective. (Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press files)

By Nick Nielsen

Health and wellness

Keeping kids healthy through the school year

Sep 17, 2025 | 2:29 PM

The school season is officially underway, and with that comes the challenge of keeping your kids and families healthy as children come together in the classroom and for after school activities.

Dr. Khami Chokani, the medical health officer for the area, says there are several health considerations to make as families settled back into their school year routine.

Measles made a comeback in Saskatchewan over the course of the last year. Signs of measles can include a rash, itchy eyes, fever, cough, and loss of appetite.

If your child is showing these sort of symptoms, Dr. Chokani urges you to keep your kids home not only to protect others from getting sick, but also because rest is an important component of getting better.

“The key part is as caregivers, if our child is not wanting their usual food and they look not well, keep them home until they are better. I think this is the number one thing that we are slowly getting to learn is that it is important to do your preventative care,” he said. “If someone has got a cough that is incessant, has kept them awake all night, don’t send them to school in the morning because they’re going to be grouchy they’re not going to be in a good mood. Keep them home let them give them plenty fluids and they should stay home and after a day at home you’d be amazed how well they feel.”

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He’s hoping to see more and more people continue get vaccinated to help put measles behind the people of Saskatchewan once again.

“We’re hoping and desiring that that also means that people are realizing that, ‘I should get my vaccinations up to date, let me go and see’, and it’s very interesting to see that because of those initial cases at the beginning, we’ve had more and more people actually going in and asking for their immunizations, asking what is their vaccination status, and where there’s been deficiencies, we have helped correct that.”

Herd immunity can be accomplished once 95 per cent of the population is vaccinated.

Along with measles vaccinations are updated COVID and flu shots. Children aged six months to five years will be eligible for vaccinations Oct. 1. Appointments for kids five years and older start Oct. 20.

Air quality was a major factor in children’s health over the summer this year. Because of the smoke from wildfires, it led to children playing outside in smoky weather that could cause irritation to both their eyes and lungs, or they were forced to play indoors with less fresh air.

The long term effects of that are still being researched according to Dr. Chokani, but he does say that with extended periods of heat, that smoky weather can have negative effects that last longer than just a simple cough.

“If the temperature remains at a at a higher than normal temperature for a sustained period of time, it enables those particles to now stay longer because the air then gets drier because it’s now having these particles are now aerosolizing. As they aerosolize, they become more intense and as such impact a person’s lung health, and it is even within those air passages. So just because the person is not coughing doesn’t mean they’re not impacted because guess what? It is their allergies that are now kicking in.”

At the end of the day, keeping your families and homes safe is to practice simple, basic hygiene.

“Washing your hands, covering your cough… I think that is really important. That’s the crux of what we would like people to look at,” he said.

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Nick.Nielsen@pattisonmedia.com