TORONTO — COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise, flu season is approaching and many more respiratory viruses are circulating again, Ontario’s most sensible doctor said Thursday, warning that the coming months may be challenging.
Medical director of fitness Dr. Kieran Moore suggested that other people get vaccinated against COVID-19 and the flu when eligible, the latter available to the general public on Nov. 1, and said he expects the highest point. of imaginable participation because the flu vaccine is usually quite effective in reducing the threat of hospitalization.
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“We want it this year of every year because it’s going to be a confusing year, as we try to get back to general life with all respiratory viruses this fall and winter,” he said in an interview Thursday.
Earlier this year, the Ontario government, in consultation with Moore, eased and then removed restrictions such as collection and capacity limits, evidence of vaccination needs and mask mandates, in long-term care homes. This fall and winter is expected to be the first since the beginning of the pandemic without those public adequacy measures in place.
The province is experiencing a “slow and slow increase” this week in the number of COVID-19 cases, verification positivity and the number of other people in hospitals and extensive care sets with COVID-19, Moore said.
Moore is not yet in a position to claim an eighth wave, but said the accumulation of COVID-19 activity in Ontario is partly due to the Omicron subvariants BA. 2. 75 and BQ. 1. 1. Each accounts for about 5% of cases in Ontario, but appear to be more transmissible and infectious.
If the hospital’s formula leaks to the point where the ability for surgical backlog is affected, Moore said he would first recommend that the government make a “recommendation” about wearing masks in settings such as postsecondary institutions, shopping malls and public transportation.
If there are additional ripple effects from the virus, Moore says at the time he would reinstate some mask mandates.
There’s enough broad attention span lately, Moore said. However, emergencies have reported strain and long wait times in recent weeks.
In August, the most recent month on record, emergency room patients waited an average of 1. 9 hours to be evaluated by a physician for the first time, and the average time emergency patients spent in the hospital if admitted was 20. 7 hours.
But an Ontario Health report released this week by the Liberals said that in August, 90 per cent of emergency patients waited up to 4. 2 hours to see a doctor for the first time and, if admitted, stayed in hospital for up to 44. 1 hours. This is despite the decrease in patient volumes that in August 2021.
Ontario Health said the average delays are more significant, but liberal fitness critic Adil Shamji said the 90th percentile numbers are because they reveal the longest waits and most damaging scenarios.
To prepare for the upcoming flu season, Ontario ordered more than six million flu shots, Moore said, which is significantly less than last year.
In 2021, Ontario ordered 7. 6 million flu vaccines, 1. 4 million more doses than the previous year, following adoption in 2020. But interest waned last year because of a decline in flu activity over the past two years, Moore said. This year’s length of order is more “realistic,” he said.
The Ministry of Health said flu vaccine intake for several seasons before the pandemic was about 30 percent. It rose to nearly 39% when COVID-19 hit in 2020, but dropped to 29% last season.
Moore said he expects at least 80 per cent of older Ontarians to get a flu shot this year.
Ontario also announced Thursday that Pfizer’s bivalent vaccine, which targets the Omicron variant, will be available starting next week for others 12 and older.
The Canadian Press report first published on October 13, 2022.
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