REGINA - The rise in respiratory viruses and absenteeism in schools is coming as no surprise to Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer.
Dr. Saqib Shahab met the media Tuesday as concerns rise over the triple-threat of COVID-19, RSV and flu circulating at the moment. He noted the province is seeing more respiratory viruses circulating including RSV and the flu.
“As fall has come and as we move indoors, we will see the usual respiratory viruses that we always used to see but didn’t see the last couple of years come up,” said Dr. Shahab.
“So with that we are seeing more coughs and colds in ourselves. Generally we could have about four to six coughs and colds per year, which many of them had no coughs and colds for two years and many of them had COVID.”
But now people should expect to see coughs and colds again. As for masking, Dr. Shahab was supportive of mask use in indoor settings and particularly for those and around those who are at high risk.
But he stopped short of supporting a return of a mask mandate.
“I think we need to make sure people feel comfortable wearing a mask or not wearing a mask based on their own risk assessment,” said Dr. Shahab.
Dr. Shahab urged parents to be aware on what to do if their child becomes sick.
“All of us, as parents, should know what we would do if our child gets a cough or cold: keep them comfortable at home from school or daycare, what are the symptoms to watch out for, if the child’s fussy and not eating or drinking, fever, and you should always monitor the temperature if it’s high and not going down. I think you can talk to (Healthcare) 811, talk to your pharmacist.”
If a child is short of breath or not doing well, then get medical care, Dr. Shahab said. He also advised not to go to ER unless it was an urgent issue.
Dr. Shahab also urged people to get their flu and COVID-19 vaccines, but acknowledged he wanted to see better uptake for the flu vaccine.
He said that for children six months to five years who generally do not get a flu vaccine, “this is the year to get it because your child has likely not been exposed to it for the last couple of years.”
He noted the flu shot would help in preventing people from getting seriously ill and having to go to the ER.
“Every little bit helps, and I think that’s an important message for today, that if you haven’t gotten around to getting your flu shot, go ahead and get it in the next week or two.”
The media availability with Dr. Shahab came as the provincial government has been dealing with a number of issues related to the rise in respiratory viruses, including the lack of availability of children’s medications.
A lack of Children’s Tylenol and other over-the-counter pharmaceutical products on store shelves has been an issue in the province as of late, as well as across the country.
The indication is relief is coming. The federal government announced Monday they have secured foreign supply of children's acetaminophen that will be available at retail and community pharmacies in the coming weeks. The government states the amount to be imported will increase supply available to consumers and help address the immediate situation. Health Canada has also recently approved the exceptional importation of infant and children's ibuprofen to supply hospitals in Canada.
Health Minister Paul Merriman told reporters on Monday he had been in contact with the federal government and “they have assured us they are securing some Tylenol and Advil for children. I believe they have a three month supply and it should be arriving in the next week or two.”
“But I think Mr. (Michael) Fougere of the pharmacists association said it really well - if parents have a concern they should go in and talk to their pharmacist because there’s opportunities to compound or there might be alternatives they can look at. So I think if somebody is in that situation they should go in. Just because it’s not on the shelf at their normal store doesn’t mean those medications might not be available.”
Schools have also been seeing a lot of absences at the moment due to illness. Dr. Shahab indicated he did not get concerned when he hears of high absenteeism.
“I’d be more concerned if there were lots of viruses going around and there’s no absenteeism. Because that means kids are going to school sick.”
He indicated what he has heard is of kids being out of school for two or three days and then returning, and emphasized the importance of staying home if you are sick.
When asked about the high absenteeism on Monday, Merriman called it an “accumulation of two years of people, masking and sanitizing and accumulation of a couple of years of flu that hasn’t been floating around as much. I think people should get their flu shot if eligible, get up-to-date on their COVID shot, if eligible, and again do their own personal risk assessment. If a kid is sick in the school system, they should stay home, that’s a general rule across the board.”
As for the rates of absenteeism in schools, Dr. Shahab indicated Tuesday that precise numbers would be provided in the biweekly CRISP reports monitoring respiratory viruses.
There had also been some renewed calls to resume mask mandates in the country, particularly in Ontario which has seen emergency rooms stressed due to a triple spike in COVID, flu and RSV.
But Ontario’s chief medical health officer Dr. Kieran Moore instead issued a recommendation, not a mandate, for indoor masking.
Merriman indicated Monday there is no recommendation for mask mandates in Saskatchewan either, and also said there has been no discussion with Dr. Shahab about it.
“I don’t think we have to have mask mandates,” said Merriman. “I think it’s everybody’s own decision whether they want to be able to do that.”
He elaborated further by saying what they are seeing right now is mainly seasonal flu and RSV. Merriman also told reporters he had not had requests for mask mandates from education or from businesses.
“I have not had requests from any sector for mask mandates,” said Merriman. He added the only mask mandates that are on right now are the ones in SHA facilities.
On Monday Opposition Health critic Vicki Mowat told reporters she’s heard anecdotally of quite a few absences of children and said it was a “definitely cause for concern.”
Mowat also noted struggles of her own constituents in finding medication for their kids. She indicated she wanted to see clear distribution and fair access, and that supply chain issues were mitigated as little as possible.
“It’s certainly encouraging to hear that the federal government has secured some supply for children’s Tylenol and we’ll need to make sure that distribution goes well to make sure there’s access for kids.”
