There are worries that if the system is strained right now, it may not be able to handle demand in the fall, which will see not only COVID-19 but an expected increase in respiratory illnesses.
The demand for testing in both the Edmonton and Calgary zone has been sustained over the last few weeks; in the Edmonton zone, appointments booked topped more than 3,700 on July 21 while appointments booked topped 6,400 in the Calgary zone on the same day.
The Edmonton zone averaged 2,908 tests made a day in the last week while the Calgary zone averaged 4,540 tests made during the same time period.
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A statement to Global News from AHS said symptomatic individuals are being tested within 24 hours while asymptomatic individuals are tested within five to seven days.
Dr. Hakique Virani, a public health professor at the University of Alberta, said the situation is worrisome.
“It underscores how important it is to get a handle on this before flu season so that things like testing capacity, ICU capacity, ventilator capacity, emergency room capacity, primary care capacity doesn’t get strained because we’re dealing with multiple regular public health issues at the same time we’re dealing with an extraordinary public health issue,” he said.
1:55 Edmontonians flock to drop-in COVID-19 testing centre
Edmontonians flock to drop-in COVID-19 testing centre
Virani, who is against the idea of Edmonton being an NHL hub city, said that Albertans should also be able to get quick turnaround of their test results like hockey players, who will be tested daily and given their results back within 24 hours.
“If we can find a way to get hockey players their results within 24 hours after being tested…could that capacity not be secured for the public?” he said.
4:43 NHL says Edmonton’s hub city bubble is ‘impenetrable’; explains testing protocols
NHL says Edmonton’s hub city bubble is ‘impenetrable’; explains testing protocols
AHS said residents with positive results are told within 24 hours while it may take up to four days for notification of a negative result, though there may be exceptions due to the high demand for testing currently.
“You could surmise that if we are strained now, when we move into the fall and people are in closer contact with students back in school, with people being indoors more because it’s colder – what you would suspect would be that there would be a rise in respiratory illnesses, influenza-like illnesses in general,” said Dr. Kirsten Fiest, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Calgary.
She said the circumstances of the pandemic have changed how people view getting tested.
“If someone had a runny nose a year ago, they would have gone to work or sent their kid to daycare potentially. Now it’s going to look a little bit different.
“Now, if you have a runny nose, you’re going to get tested and you’re going to want your children to get tested.”
Fiest said if people are not able to quickly and easily get tested, more people will self-isolate at home.
1:36 Alberta surge in COVID-19 test demand results in delayed response time
Alberta surge in COVID-19 test demand results in delayed response time
On Monday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw reminded Albertans they access their test results quicker than waiting for a call from AHS if they have a MyHealth Records account.
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The online service has been available to Albertans since early 2019 and allows people to see their recent lab test results, prescriptions and immunization history, among other things.
The demand for testing comes as Alberta sees a spike in the number of COVID-19 identified; while numbers fell in the spring, they recently surged and have surpassed 100 cases on most days for the last week and a half.
“Our lab has been able to create that capacity…[but] there are other aspects of the system, such as the ability to get the swabs done, the ability to get the calls back to the individuals who have had a test done that we are continually working on improving,” chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said on July 27.
Hinshaw also said health professionals who had been redeployed to support aspects of the pandemic response have returned to their original roles.
Dr. Kristen Klein, medical officer of health with the communicable disease control team within AHS, said there has been increased demand for testing.
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Klein said Albertans who are symptomatic or in high-risk groups — like a healthcare worker or a resident of a congregate living setting — are given priority for testing while asymptomatic Albertans may have to wait longer.
AHS said additional staff have been deployed to assessment centres and hours have been extended to help with the increased demand, and Klein said work is underway to ensure the system is prepared for the fall, such as hiring more staff.
“It’s obviously constantly evolving and the demand ebbs and flows. I expect the numbers will increase in the fall when we see other respiratory viruses, including the flu, and we are getting prepared now to be able to accommodate that,” she said.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
