Fitzgerald urges parents to vaccinate children against the flu as ER visits rise

As Newfoundland and Labrador continues to grapple with an overwhelmed Janeway emergency room and a low supply of children's cold and flu medication, the province's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, is urging parents to get their children vaccinated.

"If we can get vaccinated, we can certainly change that trajectory," said Fitzgerald in an interview with CBC News. "If people don't get vaccinated, we will certainly see more of the same."

Pediatric emergency rooms across the country are dealing with a surge in respiratory illness among children. The Janeway ER in St. John's has seen demand skyrocket, with daily visits jumping from 55 to more than 160 in less than a month.

According to the provincialDepartment of Health and Community Services, 19 people have already been hospitalized from the flu, compared with zero flu hospitalizations the previous two years. There have been two deaths so far this flu season.

The percentage of children aged sixmonths to fouryears who have received the flu vaccine is 9.7 per cent, while8.8 per cent of people ages fiveto 19 have the vaccine, and 47.7 per cent ofthe 65-plus age group do.The total population has a flu vaccination rate of 24per cent.

Fitzgerald says there are numerous reasons why people, especially children under the age of five, are experiencing more cases of the flu and respiratory viruses this year.

Children have not had much exposure to the flu yet, she said, and a lot of their bodies are experiencing respiratory viruses for the first time.

Fitzgerald saidthe flu vaccine will help reduce the risk of spreading the flu as well as the risk of being hospitalized. She saidthe vast majority of people who have been admitted to hospital for the flu thus far have not had their vaccine.

"We really are encouraging people to get their vaccinations, especially the flu vaccination now," said Fitzgerald.

No mask mandates

Despite the rise in flu and respiratory viruses amongchildren, Fitzgerald says the government is not considering reinstating a mask mandate and will not mandate mask-wearing in schools.

From a public health perspective, she said, special measures like mask mandates can be implemented only in the case of a public health emergency, which can be declared only if there's no way to mitigate the risk of an illness without introducing such a special measure.

Unlike the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fitzgerald said, the province does have a way to mitigate and reduce the risk of flu and respiratory virus, which is getting vaccinated.

Many of the children being admitted to hospital are under five years old, she said, an age group that isn't able to easily tolerate long periods of masking in spaces like schools.

"It's really difficult to prevent the spread of a virus like influenza if we're implementing something in just one area," said Fitzgerald. "So that's why we're asking people to make a risk assessment."

Fitzgerald advisedpeople to wear a mask if they feel their risk of spreading or contracting an illness is higher, and saidpeople who do fall ill should wear a mask for the 10 days after their symptoms begin.

Solutions for sick kids

In late November, the Canadian government procured about a million bottles of children's Tylenol to help ease the months-long shortage of children's pain and fever medication. But Corner Brook community pharmacist Dr. Janice Audeau says it's still challenging to keep up with demand.

"There just seems to be a very crazy demand that has outpaced production abilities for a lot of cough and cold products," said Audeau, who's also the president of the Pharmacists' Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.

"We just have a lot of people who are sick and not really enough medication to go around."

Many pharmacies will keep children's cold and flu remedies like Tylenol behind the counter, saidAudeau, to ensure people do not hoard medication. She saidthere's not a lot that can be done to keep children who are suffering with a cold or flu comfortable, so when parents don't have access to medication, managing their child's symptoms can become challenging.

"It can be really frustrating for parents because you don't really have an option for a way to treat your child," said Audeau.

Pharmacists can prescribe altered versions of adult medication to kids when children's remedies are in short supply. For example, depending on the child's weight, pharmacists may recommend a child take half a crushed tablet of adult meds, saidAudeau.

• St. John's walk-in clinic to offer children's appointments as visits to Janeway ER skyrocket
• Janeway children's hospital cancels some surgeries, appointments as respiratory virus cases rise

It's crucial to speak with a pharmacist or healthcare professional before parents offer such remedies to a child, Audeau said.

The pharmacist also advisedpeople get their flu shots and COVID-19 booster shots, wear a mask if comfortable, wash their hands frequently and stay home if they're sick.

"All that stuff that we learned in the pandemic, we really need to be applying now," said Audeau.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador