Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, fields a question at a COVID-19 briefing in Halifax on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. Strang says the province will soon be treating COVID-19 like any other respiratory illnesses.
Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health will hold a media availability about respiratory illnesses Tuesday afternoon. In a release, the province said Dr. Robert Strang will provide an update on the fall vaccine rollout plan.Infectious disease expert Dr. Lisa Barrett told Global News Tuesday morning that there’s a “triple threat” this fall from influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19.
“We’re going to see all three, and COVID’s already well on the upswing,” she said, though she noted that vaccines can be used to combat infectious diseases.Canada just had its lowest number of births in 17 years. What’s behind it? “It really does help to keep the rest of the world healthy, and there’s some pretty vulnerable people out there,” Barrett said, adding that wearing a mask in public places can also help reduce the spread of disease.In November 2022, officials said they were starting to see the number of respiratory illnesses peak much sooner than in previous years, with the IWK children’s hospital ICU working well above capacity.