At Pharmasave in Kelowna, in BC’s Glenmore area, some shelves that would normally be filled with over-the-counter medications to treat flu symptoms and other respiratory illnesses are pretty sparse.
“Sales of flu drugs are crazy to say the least,” said pharmacist-owner Craig Tostenson.
With abnormally high demand for drugs this flu season, manufacturers are scrambling to keep up.
“Because sales are very tough flu season, demand will continue,” Tostenson told Global News.
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This year’s flu season is being described as very different from previous years.
“It has started earlier and has been more prominent,” said Dr. Fatemeh Sabet, chief medical officer at Interior Health (IH).
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Increases in COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have health experts calling it “tridemia,” a triple threat that is straining health care.
“We’ve seen an increase in different respiratory infections at the same time this year,” Sabet said. “It’s something we weren’t seeing at this level in the years before the pandemic.”
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In the Interior Health region, while November and December saw the peak in the number of cases, IH said respiratory diseases are still having a big impact.
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“We continue to see respiratory infections at a high level,” Sabet said.
After being the main culprit early in the season, Sabet said flu numbers have declined.
However, this is not the case for RSV and COVID.
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“The number of RSV infections is increasing, the number of COVID infections is slightly increasing,” he said.
Although serious outcomes such as hospitalizations and deaths are currently stable, according to IH, there are people who need to be very careful.
“Individuals who are an older or younger population, infants under six months of age and people with underlying medical conditions,” Sabet said. “So it’s more important for these people to be aware that respiratory infections are still circulating.”
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Sabet urged the public, and especially the vulnerable population, to take measures to protect themselves.
“The best thing we can do is be up to date on our vaccines,” she said. “Stay at home when you are sick or when you have any symptoms of a respiratory infection and also follow hygiene measures such as washing your hands or avoiding touching your face, sneezing or coughing into your elbow and wearing masks in case that is necessary”.
IH said the Omicron variant remains the most dominant strain of COVID-19 circulating in the health region. Health officials are now monitoring the new version, the XBB1.5 subvariant.
While IH said the majority of cases in BC are in the Lower Mainland, the health authority said it’s likely only a matter of time before that region is affected.
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“Given our previous experiences with circulating respiratory infections. Interior Health is following the number of cases in the Lower Mainland,” Sabet said. “So we expect an increase in numbers here as well.”
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