Tam warns of flu upswing, new COVID-19 variants as viral triple threat continues

It’s an early start to the respiratory illness season, and we’re being hit hard out of the gate with a peaking wave of COVID-19 and above-average spikes in respiratory syncytial virus and the flu, especially among children.

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam is warning of “increased growth” in new COVID variants as respiratory viruses inundate hospitals across the country.

Tam says the triple threat of all three viruses is posing a challenge for health systems and points to the need for “stepped-up precautions.”

The resumption of school, work, and indoor gatherings has invited more viral circulation, and she stressed the importance of personal protective measures.

Related Articles:

• CMA blasts federal and provincial governments over healthcare funding failure

• Advocates call on feds to step in as B.C. hospital worker faces deportation

• B.C. parents call for changes to 811 health hotline

“We need to keep up with the hand washing, wearing good quality well-fitted face masks when indoors,” she said, urging people to receive booster vaccinations.

As there are calls for mask mandates to return, Tam says it’s up to each province to determine their course of action, she notes masks and other measures could help prevent the spread and alleviate the surge of patients that we’re seeing in hospitals.

“If it’s added to the other layers of protection, including vaccination, it might actually make a difference in terms of dampening the surge so that the hospitals can cope just a little bit better,” she explained.

Although a recent surge of COVID-19 cases seems to have “plateaued,” Tam says emerging Omicron variants BQ.1.1 and BF.7 are on the rise.

Meanwhile, above-seasonal cases of the common childhood illness of RSV are especially high, with pediatric centres inundated with young patients.

She also noted influenza cases have “increased steeply” and are accelerating, with more than half of detected cases involving children and teens.

The most recent figures from public health show the flu positivity rate in mid-October was five per cent. Tam says that’s approaching the seasonal threshold for an influenza epidemic.

“There’s a dynamic interplay with these viruses and we actually don’t fully understand these dynamics when they are occurring together,” said Tam.

Tam noted Health Canada’s working hard to address supply issues with some antibiotics and the major shortage of children’s pain medication.

“They are tapping into every avenue, to look at what they could support in terms of supply, including importation from other countries.”

-With files from Cormac McSweeny