Manitoba seeing dip in vaccination rates amid delayed flu season

Manitoba is currently in the middle of respiratory virus season, with COVID-19, RSV and influenza putting pressure on the health-care system; however, despite this strain, the province is still seeing fewer people getting vaccinated.

“The health-care system is dealing with strains continually due to a lot of factors,” said chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin.

“The respiratory virus season this year, that strain is kind of shifted a bit later. So we certainly are seeing that.”

According to Roussin, the exact timing of respiratory virus season is always unpredictable.

He added that this year Manitoba is seeing a peak in influenza cases later than it did last year.

“With that, that’s going to start bringing more and more people to hospital,” he said in an interview with CTV Morning Live on Friday.

“In a week or two we’re going to start seeing more of those severe outcomes, those ICU admissions and severe cases.”

When it comes to influenza vaccination rates, Roussin said Manitoba is a couple percentage points lower than it was at this point in 2024.

He said we are currently at a 22 per cent uptake for flu shots, though it’s closer to 60 per cent for those over the age of 65.

“Still not seeing the same numbers as we did last year, although similar to what we saw pre-pandemic,” he said.

“So, we really want to get that message out that this season has been late, so if you haven’t yet been vaccinated, it’s certainly not too late to get vaccinated for either COVID or influenza.”

As for COVID-19 vaccinations, Roussin said there’s been a 15 per cent uptake, which is down a couple percentage points from last year. He added that about 50 per cent of those over the age of 65 have gotten the COVID vaccine.

“Those at high risk, those over the age of 65, and those with underlying medical conditions, especially for COVID-19, we really encourage people to consider getting that vaccine,” he said.

Roussin added that Manitoba saw fewer ER visits over the holidays this year compared to last but expects to see a rise a bit later in the season.

• With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagace.