What's different:
1) the flu is not covid, so it's not as infectious or deadly.
The death rate for influenza/pneumonia in Canada fluctuates by year. The year 2021 saw a lower than average flu and pneumonia death rate.
www.statista.com
I calculated covid/flu/pneumonia deaths to be at least 3X as high in 2020 as any previous year listed above in Canada.
2) unlike with covid, the annual flu vaccine was available to everyone months before some hospitals were strained in 2011 & 2013. Yet some hospitals got strained anyways.
3) extreme safety measures were not in place in 2011 or 2013. If they were the strain on hospitals would have been easily averted. Without such measures covid in 2020-2021 would have caused a major horror show far worse than what we have seen, with multiple times the number or deaths.
What's the same:
1) elective surgeries have been postponed during covid and during 2011's strain on some hospitals. So there is precedent for this type of action. Even during a flu season.
These news reports are from 2011 and 2013 respectively:
"Unlike last year, when the H1N1 pandemic virus was the main influenza strain, public health officials are now battling H3N2, a seasonal flu that disproportionately affects the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. Toronto has had more than 700 laboratory-confirmed flu cases this season, compared to the 100 or so cases it sees every year. Winnipeg reported 135 flu cases between July, 2010, and Jan. 8; the city had nine lab-confirmed cases during the same period in 2007-08.
"A colleague of mine and some others around here are starting to call this whole problem a flunami,..."
"... Michael Gardam, medical director of infection prevention and control at the University Health Network, echoed the sentiment. "I've never seen a flu year like this," he said. "This is by far the worst flu year I've ever seen. It's a mess."
Health officials urge flu shots as patients numbers grow: 'I've never seen a flu year like this'
www.theglobeandmail.com
"At a news conference Wednesday, Alberta’s Dr. Dickout...
"...those sick with the flu that in most cases, the illness can be managed at home and there’s no need for emergency medical care. In fact, to avoid the risk of infecting others, it’s best to stay at home until you’re feeling better, they say.
Dickout said patients should also look into the other options available for their care to help reduce the pressure on emergency departments. In addition to seeing their family doctors, those worried about their symptoms can also visit walk-in clinics, urgent care centres, Primary Care Networks and Family Care Clinics.
Dickout added, though, that emergency rooms will never turn away those who need treatment.
As both the flu and the stomach infection nororvirus sweep across Canada, hospitals all over the country say they are being pushed to the limit.
www.ctvnews.ca
