Surgeries postponed as viral illnesses impact hospital capacity: health minister
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Manitoba’s top doctor is urging people to get their flu shots as respiratory viruses are adding strain to the hospital system and leading to postponed surgeries.
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“We know that getting vaccinated not only helps you but helps people around us by decreasing the chances we can spread those illnesses to people around us, some of them may be much more vulnerable than us,” Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer said Thursday during a news conference at the Manitoba Legislative Building.
The spread of respiratory viruses is expected to rise as people gather for the holiday season, he said.
“Take some time for your body to build up that immune response, so we can all be protected for the next couple of weeks where we’re going to spend a lot of time indoors and we’re going to be seeing a lot more transmission of these respiratory viruses,” Roussin said. “You certainly don’t want to miss out on those memories and those gatherings just because you’ve come down with something we could have prevented with a vaccine.”
Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said hospitals have postponed scheduled surgeries as capacity is strained, in part, by people with influenza presenting to emergency rooms.
“We are working very hard with health leaders and surgeons across the province where these things have happened to reschedule surgeries as soon as possible,” Asagwara said, noting Health Sciences Centre has added 13 transitional beds to its treatment capacity.
Both health officials urged Manitobans to get vaccinated. About 16% of eligible Manitobans have received COVID-19 shots this year, and about 22% their flu shots. Those numbers rise for seniors, a group at higher risk of serious outcomes from respiratory illness, with about 48% uptake on COVID-19 vaccines and 57% for influenza.
“We know that vaccines work. They help to keep people healthy, and they help to keep people out of hospital and out of the ICU,” Asagwara said. “Most of the patients in ICU for COVID or for the flu as of last week were not vaccinated.”
Kking@postmedia.com
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