Trends in respiratory illnesses in Windsor-Essex and beyond have prompted a joint letter from the region’s health-care leaders urging the public to get flu shots and updated COVID-19 vaccines.
“Today, we are asking residents of this region to once again do their part to address the spread of these dangerous viruses,” the letter states.
According to the letter, getting an annual flu shot and staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccination are “simple and effective ways” to limit the spread of illness, putting less burden on the Windsor-Essex health care system.
“Coughs, fever, chills, runny noses,” Nesathurai said.
Among emergency department patients between the ages 11 and 18, a third of them are there due to respiratory illness.
Among emergency patients under the age of four, half of them are cases of respiratory illness.
“You have to remember, we were closed down in January of this year,” Musyj told the Star. “We’ve been coming out of that. That’s why the pandemic issue is dramatic. A lot of toddlers haven’t been exposed to any type of viruses for two years.”
Influenza and COVID-19 aren’t the only causes for concern. The U.S. has seen an increase in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — a common winter virus that causes mild cold-like symptoms in healthy individuals, but is potentially dangerous to infants and the elderly.
“We’re seeing increased demands in our paediatric area, for sure,” said Musyj, noting that WRH has been taking in patients from other parts of the province where hospital systems are even more burdened.
“Right now, Ottawa, GTA (Greater Toronto Area), and Kitchener-Waterloo are struggling — more so than Windsor-Essex,” Musyj said.
“It could be worse (locally). Unfortunately, it’s probably where we’re heading.”
“That’s been escalated to now,” Musyj told the Star. “It’s really starting now.”
Flu shots are available for all Ontario residents who are older than six months of age.
The bivalent COVID-19 vaccine — meant to target the now dominant Omicron variant — is now available to all Ontario residents ages 12 and older.
The Windsor-Essex vaccination rate for COVID-19 booster shots remains below the provincial average.
While 80.9 per cent of all residents in the region have received at least two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, only 16.4 per cent have received a fourth dose — and there has been little change to the statistics over the past four months.
