Why are all the kids sick right now? And can the system handle it?
Posted November 23, 2022 5:23 am.
In today’s Big Story podcast, surgeries for children are being cancelled at paediatric hospitals as staff race to care for a huge surge in kids arriving in the ER, or needing ICU space. This fall it seems like every child is coming down with something. And experts are calling it a tridemic, consisting of COVID-19, the flu, and respiratory synctical virus (RSV).
Are children experiencing an immunity debt due to pandemic lockdowns? Can our children’s hospitals handle the surge in cases? What should parents be doing to keep their kids safe? And if you do need to take a child to the ER, what do you need to know?
Dr. Katherine Smart, is a practicing paediatrician, past president of the Canadian Medical Association and she joined The Big Story to share her expertise and some tips.
“We’re not seeing great uptake of the flu vaccine, so that’s a contributor as well. So I’d really urge people to get your flu vaccine this year … we also have very poor uptake of the COVID vaccine in young kids, so that’s also putting young children more at risk of COVID which is highly circulating,” said Smart.
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You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.
