Saskatoon defeats Regina in latest mayoral COVID-19 vaccine challenge

Saskatoon’s mayor claimed victory in the mayoral COVID-19 vaccine re-challenge between Saskatoon and Regina.

Regina Mayor Sandra Masters will be releasing a lip-sync video performance of the song It Takes Two by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock after coming up short in the re-challenge issued by Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark from last month.

The second part of the race was to see which city could record the highest number of doses for the month of July. Saskatoon came up with 8,333 first doses and 60,833 second doses, while Regina finished with 6,319 first doses and 46,390 second doses.

“Thank you to everyone in Saskatoon who rolled up your sleeve, literally, to get vaccinated,” said Clark in a statement on Tuesday.

“It is protecting your loved ones and helping keep our community be safe. I also was concerned about giving Regina bragging rights, so you’ve also helped us redeem the good name of our city. I know Mayor Masters is going to rock her lip sync!”

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“Mayor Clark, you know it! I love a contest and I plan to win at losing. Stay tuned for a video coming to a screen near you mid-August,” shared Masters in the release.

In early July, Clark released a lip-sync performance of The Last Saskatchewan Pirate after he lost the initial vaccine challenge, which was based on which city could record the most first doses per 1,000 people between June 17 to 30.

Regina administered 20.1 first doses per 1,000 people and Saskatoon had 19.7.

Now that the rivalry between Saskatchewan’s two largest cities has been balanced, Masters’ performance of It Takes Two will look to encourage citizens to get both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine if they haven’t done so already.

“Two vaccines ensure we can get back inside this winter with confidence,” Masters said. “I’d like to see Regina’s population hit 85 per cent double vaccinated. The wellbeing of our community depends on the commitment of each resident to get both doses.”

“This is what we need to do in order to go back into our workplaces safely in the fall, have our kids be in school, and to beat the Delta variant,” Clark added. “The number one way to do this is to get vaccinated.”

Statistics show that 25.3 per cent of Saskatoon residents still need a first dose and 34.3 per cent need a second dose. In Regina, 22.4 per cent are without a first dose and 31.5 per cent need a second dose.