RISK FAQTORS
A ‘Tridemic’ Has Arrived in Yukon, More Kids are Getting Sick, Only 1 in 5 Yukoners Have Had the Flu Shot and I Live With An Elder. Time to Mask Up?
Great question.
So, after transitioning to a relatively maskless summer most Yukoners (and most Canadians) have been pushing forward with a maskless fall and winter. This is despite a resurgence in the number of cases of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other respiratory illnesses observed from coast to coast to coast.
Dangerous wait times at children’s hospitals and health centres across Canada have some jurisdictions pondering the return of mask wearing as a way to help prevent further overcrowding in Emergency Departments.
Back home, there are still Yukoners who see masking as an effective way to protect themselves and/or others from infectious sneezes and coughs. Also, a small percentage of Yukoners still wear masks because they work at a long-term care facility or a hospital, where masking is still mandatory.
So what is the right approach to masking in early 2023? What is the right approach for you?
Probably the best answer is to keep assessing the risk to yourself and others but include in your risk assessment that more than one potentially harmful virus that may be circulating in your community, that more young children are getting sick, and that your Health Centre may be understaffed and overwhelmed.
This isn’t to say that your community won’t be prepared if you or someone in your household suddenly becomes sick, it’s just another factor for your consideration, especially if you live outside of Whitehorse.
In December, Dr. Sudit Rande, Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, said the territory was just at the beginning of a harsh season of respiratory illnesses, and that Yukoners need to prepare.
Also in December, in an interview with One Yukon, Whitehorse Pediatrician Dr. Katharine Smart advised that we need only look at the spike in school absenteeism due to sickness, along with an increasing number emergency room visits and hospital admissions as evidence that Yukon is now facing a ‘tridemic.’ Her advice to parents (and everyone) was to take this situation seriously.
If that message wasn’t concerning enough, Isaac MacDonald of the Yukon Hospital Corporation told the Whitehorse Star “We anticipate a significant flu season this year with higher than average respiratory illness cases,” adding that longer wait times may be coming as a result.
So, hopefully this can help you make an informed decision, especially if you live with an elder, someone who is immunocompromised, someone with a pre-exiting condition, and/or small children.
A simple rule might f you plan on holding or attending gatherings and/or hanging out with friends and family, consider the risks and wear a mask if the risk is too high.
Masks protect our elders, our families and the most vulnerable members of our communities against serious illness. In other words, wearing a surgical mask indoors this winter makes a lot of sense.
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