Manitoba has had a late start to cold and flu season, but the province says case numbers have started to rise.
Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, says ERs and ICUs are feeling the pressure, and he expects a second wave of cases to arrive in late winter or early spring.
“Numbers had been relatively mild up until these last number of weeks. Certainly late, and trending up now. So, it’s a little soon to know how we’re going to end up compared to other years,” says Roussin.
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So far this winter, 1,998 cases of influenza A have been reported. By this time in the 2023-2024 season, there had been 2,723 cases. In the 2022-2023 season, there had been 2,649 cases. In those years, numbers peaked in late November and December.
The cases may be more severe this year, with 64 deaths reported so far, compared to 56 in the 2023-2024 season and 57 in the 2022-2023 season.
Roussin says there has also been a slight decrease in the number of people getting vaccinated.
“For the influenza vaccine, we’re about 23 per cent of the overall population. And last year we had about 25 per cent. So we’re a little bit down. It’s not so dramatic for those who are high risk, those over 65, it’s very similar to what we saw last year.”
Roussin says it’s not too late to get a flu shot if you haven’t yet, adding it’s especially recommended for children and those over 65. He said nearly all of the cases that end up in the ICU are unvaccinated individuals.
