As colder weather approaches, officials encourage people to get flu shots, bivalent booster

Thunder Bay's medical officer of health is encouraging people in the district to get their flu shots and bivalent boosters as colder weather approaches.

Dr. Janet DeMille is joining the growing number of health officials across region and across the country asking people to stay up-to-date on their flu shots and COVID-19 vaccines ahead of flu season and an expected surge of COVID-19. 

"We're going to be inside for awhile," DeMille said. "We won't have the benefit of being able to be outside like we had over the summer."

Data suggests that COVID cases in Thunder Bay haven't really dipped since earlier waves this year. If new variants arrive as expected, that could lead to another wave of COVID-19, further straining the health system, she said. 

DeMille said meanwhile, flu cases are starting to pop up in the Thunder Bay area, which is earlier in the year than normal.

"That's a a big concern," DeMille said. "The healthcare system is already under significant pressure, and both flu and COVID among other respiratory viruses that spread are really going to cause a problem."

"I am concerned that there are a lot of people right now that aren't effectively protected, and the big way of getting that protection right now, especially for those at high risk, are with that bivalent booster."

DeMille said the booster is important to protect people who are most at-risk, such as those over age 70 and people with underlying health problems.

"We really, ideally, want to prevent people from requiring hospitalization, or even hospital support," she said. "I really want to put a call out there for people who are [between] 60 and 69. I think that's the next age group that I'm concerned about."

LISTEN | Dr. Janet DeMille gives her fall COVID-19 update, calling for people to get boosted

While DeMille said COVID is "generally milder" in younger people, she is also concerned about the effects of long COVID.

"The best way to avoid long COVID is to not get COVID," she said. "The booster now would really provide some protection against that. It's not perfect, of course, but it would provide that. And I think we need to talk more about long COVID and that the impact that it has on people."

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief medical officer of health, made a similar call this week, encouraging people to get their bivalent boosters over concerns about a fall resurgence of the virus.

"Overall, population immunity may be falling and leaving us less protected," Tam said. "Hospitalizations are elevated or actually increasing in some areas and this could be an early sign of a fall resurgence."

Meanwhile, officials with the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre are also warning the system could be strained this fall and winter. 

They're asking people to consider getting help from primary care providers for "less severe" emergencies before coming to the hospital or consider alternative care options. 

This week, the hospital reported the medical surgical hospital occupancy was at 107.3 per cent, with occupancy in the intensive care unit (ICU) at 90.9 percent. It's been at, near or over capacity for much of the year.