A “complicated” flu season has officially begun in Huron-Perth, area health officials say.
A “complicated” flu season has officially begun in Huron-Perth, area health officials say.
Huron Perth public health publicly confirmed Friday the region’s first case of influenza, meaning the virus is circulating here.
It’s also not the only one.
“We can all expect this respiratory illness season to be more complicated with influenza, COVID-19 and other viruses … circulating at the same time,” Dr. Miriam Klassen, Huron-Perth’s medical officer of health, said in a press release. “I encourage all residents aged six months and older to get their influenza immunization this fall. It is the best way to protect yourselves and your loved ones from severe illness due to flu.”
Flu shots are currently available to patients and staff in hospitals, residents and staff in long-term care homes, and those at high risk for flu-related complications. That will change on Tuesday, however, when the annual jabs will be available to anyone aged six months and older.
The flu vaccine will be available through primary-care providers and pharmacies. For families with children between six months and two years old who do not have access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner, Huron Perth public health has scheduled a pair of clinics next month, one in Clinton on Nov. 14 and one in Stratford on Nov 21.
The health unit will not be offering flu shot clinics for the general public, officials said Friday.
Ontario’s top doctor, meanwhile, has warned the coming months could be tough due to rising cases of COVID-19 among other circulating respiratory viruses.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore has urged people to get their COVID-19 and flu shots when eligible. Moore said earlier this month he’s hoping for the highest level of uptake possible because the flu vaccine is normally quite effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization.
“We really need it this year of all years because it’s going to be a complicated year, as we try to get back to normal living with all respiratory viruses this fall and winter,” Moore told the Canadian Press.
Early this year, the Ontario government — in consultation with Moore — eased and then removed restrictions such as gathering and capacity limits, proof-of-vaccination requirements and mask mandates, except in long-term care homes. This fall and winter are set to be the first since the beginning of the pandemic without those measures in place.
The province is seeing a “slow and progressive rise” this week in the number of COVID-19 cases, test positivity, and the number of people in hospital and intensive care units with COVID-19, Moore said.
Moore is not ready to declare an eighth wave just yet, but said the increase in COVID-19 activity in Ontario is partly being driven by Omicron subvariants BA.2.75 and BQ.1.1. They each make up about five per cent of cases in Ontario, but appear to be more transmissible and infectious.
To prepare for the upcoming flu season, Ontario has ordered more than six-million flu shots, considerably less than last year. In 2021, Ontario ordered 7.6-million flu shots — 1.4 million more doses than the previous year — after a large uptake in 2020.
There was lower interest last year due to a decrease in flu activity over the past couple of years, Moore said. This year’s order size is more “realistic,” he said.
The Ministry of Health said flu shot uptake for several seasons pre-pandemic stood at about 30 per cent. It increased to nearly 39 per cent when COVID-19 hit in 2020, but dropped to 29 per cent last season.
Moore said he hopes in particular that at least 80 per cent of older Ontarians get immunized against the flu this year.
Huron Perth public health reported three new COVID-related deaths this week. Two were connected to an outbreak at Ritz Lutheran Villa in Mitchell, the health unit confirmed. The third was a community death.
The new deaths bring Huron-Perth’s total since the beginning of the pandemic to 133.
Eight COVID-19 outbreaks were active in the region as of Wednesday’s data update, six in long-term care and retirement homes and another two in unnamed congregate living settings.
Klassen is scheduled to host a media briefing about this year’s respiratory illness season Tuesday afternoon.
-With files from the Canadian Press
How to “layer up” and protect yourself this respiratory illness season:
- Staying home when sick.
- Wearing a mask for 10 days after the start of respiratory illness symptoms, a positive COVID-19 test result, or exposure to someone with COVID-19. Also consider wearing a mask in indoor settings if you are at higher risk of severe illness, or interact with elderly or immune compromised individuals.
- Not visiting immunocompromised individuals or high-risk settings such as long-term care homes for 10 days after you are sick.
- Washing hands often with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially after touching your face or high-touch surfaces.
- Covering your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or shirt sleeve, not your hands.
- Cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces, such as toys, doorknobs, light switches and cell phones, especially if someone is sick.
- Avoiding crowded indoor spaces
- Maintaining physical distance.
- Staying up to date on all vaccinations for which you are eligible.
Source: Huron Perth public health