hello there Peter bro thank you for joining me today on this live we're going to discuss fall viruses and vaccines I'll give it a moment to get started uh but uh please feel free to add questions that you might have into the chat and uh look forward to the conversation today we're going to cover a whole range of issues um and I'll uh be happy to take some questions if there's any that come up live as well all okay seeing some folks joining and that's great we'll get started now uh uh hopefully you can hear me okay and uh feel free to um add any questions as we go into the chat here today we're going to talk about viruses and vaccines and preparing for the fall uh it is September 3rd the first week back uh to school for some uh right after Labor Day and perhaps back to work and getting busier into the fall for others I hope you're well I hope you had a fantastic summer uh I certainly did I had some time off and had the fortune of being able to explore the beautiful um you know Lakes uh on canoe and doing some camping in the region really beautiful area here in in petero so um we're going to talk a little bit about uh viruses and some of the vaccines for them so we'll cover off obviously co9 influenza RSV we'll also talk a little bit about uh pusis which unfortunately he's making a comeback this year and um we'll also talk a little bit about uh some of the other preventions Beyond vaccines that uh you uh can take um uh as well as covering off perhaps some information and questions about some uh viruses that you uh don't hear a lot about because fortunately we're not seeing now but are in the media um things like moox and h5n1 so we'll talk a little bit about that and uh again I'll take any questions I see one that's popped up there and I'll note that one and come back to it shortly as as we go so um the position that we're in headed into the fall is um you know fairly similar to the last couple of years if we take a look at the uh Peterboro public health covid-19 risk index uh which is available if you just go to peteru health.com page the Risk Index um is our dashboard for outlining the current transmission risk of different viruses is and when we take a look here here I'll pull it up for you um we can see that covid-19 is uh at moderate and other respiratory viruses which would include things like influenza RSV are at very low right now that's pretty typical um over the last month we actually did see some summertime transmission of covid-19 that's why the Risk Index is at moderate and has been for um a number of weeks now uh we uh are able to continue to look at the Wastewater signal and that work um reporting on the Wastewater signal of uh of covid will continue when I look we had a peak around um early August uh with more transmission this past summer than we had last summer what that tells me is that um we will likely as we've seen so far in the covid-19 pandemic see another wave in a few months from now last year uh there was a large transmission um that started in midt this year my guess would be it might be a little bit later we would see some more transmission perhaps later October November because of this summer wave um or summer uh heightened transmission that we've seen so um I think that that is a good thing because there will be the opportunity to get vaccinated and protected before covid-19 transmission increases uh more again this fall on the covid-19 vaccine front we know South of the Border in the states they've had their three vaccines the one that's produced by madna fizer and the novavax vaccine which is the protein based one uh approved now for uh a couple of weeks we're still waiting on approval in Canada uh that happens at a national level by Health Canada uh those vaccines will be approved this year and then provinces will make their recommendations and campaign accordingly um you know we do know though for covid that uh generally what to expect and that is from the um National advisory committee on immunization so nassie put out their recommendations now uh back in May and uh their recommendations were quite similar to last year uh being that uh they recommend uh strongly recommend a dose in populations at higher risk of severe covid-19 and they uh recommend consideration or a conditional recommendation of a dose for others so that um uh recommendation for severe uh covid-19 includes anyone uh that has not yet uh been immunized at all uh against covid-19 it also includes people who um are uh residents of Long-Term Care Homes other congregate living settings people with medical conditions that place them at higher risk people who are pregnant First Nation mate Inuit communities people that are members of racialized or other Equity deserving commun commities and people who provide access to essential community services so that um population uh is uh strongly recommended and the way nassie frames it is others that have been previously vaccinated uh are recommended um to have access and and receive uh so I think that you know people will obviously make their own decisions I certainly will be getting my own uh vaccination this fall that'll probably be with one of these mRNA vaccines that uh are produced by either fizer or madna and uh they're nicely tailored um to the latest variant that's circulating so that's called for those still tracking kp2 and uh for uh currently circulating strains most of the co that we're seeing out there is what's called kp3 um and that's just a descendant so the vaccines that'll be available for covid this fall should actually really be good protection so that's important and uh I'm sure uh folks will want access to that that I don't know exactly when that will start in Ontario yet at this stage we're still waiting for that final information hoping to find out in the next couple of weeks uh from The Province when That vaccine will be available probably early October and here in the petero Public Health Region for the most part people will get access to that from their pharmacies again uh just like last fall petero public Health's running some selective clinics that includes for um uh uh First Nation communities we're also doing uh for those who uh can't access otherwise including um uh younger people in our routine immunization clinic here uh so information about those fairly limited clinics will be available when we get the provincial guidance and uh for the most part people will be able to get their vaccine from pharmacies uh similar story goes for influenza we're anticipating information fairly soon about the vaccines that'll be available we know that Australia uh has had one of their most severe flu seasons uh in the last decade this past summer right so southern hemisphere our summer is their winter when they get um uh their influenza wave and uh it was quite severe in the southern hemisphere this year so we would usually anticipate that ours will kind of follow suit and be similar so I think it's safe to say that we are likely to anticipate a more severe uh flu season this year and for that reason again those that are eligible which is everyone 6 months and older uh should be getting their flu shot flu shots really important for uh everyone but especially for those at severe risk of a risk of severe influenza which includes um uh the elderly and uh young children children under especially 10 years of age are at risk of severe influenza certainly my kiddos will be getting their flu shots as well this year and it's really important protection um you know we do see kids uh die from influenza um for the most part adults that get it um have a lower likelihood if they're otherwise healthy uh of severe disease but you know who wants to be floored with the flu so I think important to consider rolling up your sleeve when that program starts again we would anticipate late September October as in previous years influenza vaccine should start okay moving along to RSV um respiratory sensial virus RSV is a virus that is what's called a respiratory virus as well it's an important one and it causes a lot of hospitalization and severe disease especially in infants young kids and in the elderly so for the first time last year we actually had a provincial program that uh was available to prevent RSV in um high-risk older adults and that was using a uh one of these new RSV vaccines um uh called axv and That vaccine will be available able again this year uh but there's also a new RSV vaccine that's available called a briso and uh uh That vaccine is also authorized for older adults but that vaccine will also be available for people who are pre uh pregnant for protection of their kids we'll come back to that shortly um because even more exciting uh will be what the province has announced this new vacine for infants that is going to be a very important protection because when we see kids admitted to hospital with severe respiratory illness especially through the winter often it's because of RSV and this vaccine that's going to be available to protect them will be really important so on RSV the population that uh is eligible for this um are those who didn't get it last year because if you got it last year you're likely protected for multiple years so uh we're not strongly recommending people then get the vaccine again this year um those who are eligible for the eventually funded program are anyone 60 years and older that's living in a long-term care retirement home and then other key populations so people who are in hospital and staying there under what's called alternate level of care people on dialysis indigenous populations um uh uh people uh who have been the recipients of transplant and then people who are experiencing homelessness all of those for people 60 years and older now if you are not in that group you um could also qualify if you're in that age group but not in the high-risk group uh to purchase the vaccine yourself but it's not something we're strongly recommending because um the vaccine in the publicly funded program is going to be covering off those who are at the highest risk of severe disease with RSV let's talk about the infant program that's exciting uh there's a vaccine the name of it is Bay foris but it's this new monoclonal antibody vaccine we've had a similar monoclonal antibody available for prey babies uh for a number of years but this is a new vaccine that's now going to be much more widely available for all newborns and uh if you're pregnant and going to have a kiddo in the next uh you know six months through the winter you will actually receive information from the hospital about getting protection for your infant through this and this is an exciting new opportunity to protect uh uh infants and and young kids at the highest risk of RSV and Hospital a due to that virus um so you know you'll be given more information either through your family dock or through the hospital your Midwife or obstetrician about the availability of this as uh we go into the fall and it becomes available but it's a new um well studied safe vaccine but new exciting source of protection that uh you want to keep a lookout for I want to briefly talk about a few other um infections one not a virus is pertusus bacteria that causes whooping cough um so unfortunately we are seeing a Resurgence in whooping cough and uh uh the transmission of that has been especially in people who haven't had their um you know booster dose uh in the period that um they should ideally be getting it so uh the vaccine that protect protects against pusis is given to infants when you're 2 four 6 months old it's also given to four to six year old kids and to 14 to 16y Old teenagers and most of the cases that we're seeing are in that teenage population who haven't had their booster dose in the time that they should be uh so last uh school year we actually saw a number of outbreaks in schools um it can cause this very distinctive whooping like cough where people gasp for breath and have this Pro prolonged difficulty um coughing uh it can cause severe disease and and what we're most concerned about with PT again is infants can uh get severe disease and or die from U protasis so getting them their vaccines while they're young is important but for everyone uh protection against this is important so we uh we would recommend especially if you're the parent of a teenager check your vaccine records check with your family doctor make sure you're up to date if not public health is doing catchup clinics you can see your primary care provider and we'll even be doing some vaccine clinics and schools to catch people up so keep keep an eye out for that protect yourself against pusis it's uh uh on the Resurgence as is a number of other vaccines and it's because we've fallen behind on some uh of our immunizations which is unfortunate so it's important to catch up on those a couple more uh viruses to just touch on one is uh they're both ones that we continue to watch so not anything to be urgently concerned about in our community at this moment but ones that public health are watching one is H 5 uh N1 which is Aven influenza you'll recall earlier in the year we saw a bunch of outbreaks of this in uh uh cattle farms and dairy farms especially in the United States and we saw several cases in Dairy firm workers uh the cases were not as severe but the reason that we're on the lookout and watching this is because um historically Aven influenza has been very very severe you know a a lethality that is 50 to 90% in some of the outbreaks that have happened since this first emerged a little over two decades ago so historically this virus has been a big concern and it's in a new population animal population being dairy cattle to watch this public Health's been investigating the cases in the United States we've been monitoring for cases in Canada and to date we haven't had any positive uh cases in cattle in Canada or in the milk supply in Canada but this is very much something that we continue to watch if uh it were to happen some of the same uh preventions that have worked for Co in influenza would work for protecting and stopping the transmission including things like masking and uh improved indoor air quality but importantly there is a vaccine that could be available and ramped up and distributed uh If This Were to occur it's not something we're routinely recommending because at this stage we haven't seen any cases in Canada so so it's one we're watching another one we're watching is empo you may or may not have uh remembered back in 2022 we saw um a global pandemic of empo well that uh virus has continued to transmit in uh some countries especially in central Africa actually one of the countries that I used to work in Democratic Republic of the Congo is seeing a large outbreaks of a uh strain of that impo that is more severe that's something that again public health is watching there was a international um uh pandemic emergency declared by The Who especially because those countries don't have access to the same resources and protections and they need access to the vaccine to prevent the outbreak that's ongoing at this stage there's been a case in Europe but uh haven't been cases um in Canada uh but of the more severe strain but it's something we continue to watch and if it were to happen it would be certainly a concern as it's concern in the Dr Congo right now I mean it's really unfortunate that we continue to see uh kind of the unfairness in access to he services and protections globally because really in this globalized world our health is all connected viruses don't respect borders um so again I just bring it up to say it's one that public Health's watching for some populations especially people um who are in the um MSM men who have sex with men population or sexw working population there's eligibility for the vaccine against empo um and you should check that out if you are in that population and you haven't been previously immunized uh it's a safe and effective vaccine but at this stage it's really only for that focused population we're not recommending it for everyone we're not recommending it for travel but public health is continuing to watch it so those are most of the um uh viruses plus one bonus pertusus that I had wanted to cover off in our discussion today hopefully I've covered off most of uh the information that uh you were maybe looking for I um will also emphasize you know uh we're going to continue to publish the Risk Index so on P peteru health.com mic uh though CO's still here uh we're fortunately seeing um better protection from vaccines and for the most part less severe disease though I want to say you know we've had 14 people die in our community in 2024 from covid so it is still a virus that's um presenting with severe disease and that's a lot more people than we'd ever see on an annual basis die of influenza before the pandemic right so this is important but for the most part for most people severe disease is less likely we know uh there is a lot of people that continue to be affected by uh long covid or postco condition I'm actually helping and involved in guidelines uh called the Canadian postco condition guidelines you can learn more about them at can pcc.com to prevent postco which is important um you know if you're trying to be uh uh protective uh some things to think about Beyond vaccines that we've talked about are potentially masking especially when the risk goes up to high very high you know masking I know not commonly used anymore is still a helpful intervention so if you don't want to get sick if you're in some place with super bad air quality it's important to think about um uh uh masking as a way to prevent if you're uh homesick and you've had covid the recommendations are still to use masking to prevent transmission uh of covid for the 10 days after uh you do go back uh to work after you've been sick so think about uh that if you are sick um especially uh to improvements on indoor air quality that's something that our Board of Health has really advocated and uh uh uh you can uh improve indoor air quality by spending more time uh outside or with Windows or doors open look at your furnace and uh make sure the settings especially when you have lots of people over are high to get lots of fresh air inside we know that's healthy for more than just virus transmission prevention we know um better air quality more oxygen actually helps us to concentrate and feel better so uh indoor air quality is still something I think is super important to be aware of and um I'll uh pretty well stop my general update there I'm going to cycle back to a question that came from um somebody earlier in the chat which is is there any updated uh guidance you can recommend for congregate living facilities headed into the fall so I know our health unit will be in touch directly with those settings be thinking about vaccine for those uh residents of congregate living settings so especially covid and flu for everyone but RSV for those that qualify as well so there's lots of vaccines that'll be important um you know continuing to try to prevent the uh spread through things like masking um you know trying to protect folks when uh there's people that are sick and uh you know staying a bit more isolated we want to make sure people don't get socially isolated disconnected but we also want to make sure people don't spread viruses thinking about air quality is important as well so the guidance that we have for those settings um uh will be shared directly from our teams uh you can also check out our website for more information on that uh you can click through the Risk Index here um down here you can see uh guidance uh as well and uh there's some information uh that may be helpful for you in answering your questions there so I've spoken fairly quickly uh for those of you watching uh uh live thank you for joining for those of you watching the recording I hope this has been helpful feel free to reach out if we can help further I'm seeing a thank you for all this information uh I'm just going to wait for another minute or to in case there's more questions um I know a couple that we got in online beforehand uh let me just turn to those we got one question will we be holding vaccine clinics um and I think I've covered that off already right so our routine immunization uh clinic for the most part focuses on kids who don't have access to Primary Care to get caught up on vaccines um we will do moox vaccination there as well and public health will be hosting some focused clinics for influenza and uh uh covid vaccine uh but for the most part most people will get their vaccines this year through pharmacies uh I believe we have already 44 pharmacies in the region that are signed up and going to be participating so hopefully you can get your vaccine at your Pharmacy again if you missed it earlier we're hoping that um end of September early October those will be available but you may um want to just stay tuned for those final dates and one other question we did get please can you please advocate for the updated novavax um shot uh so novavax just uh for those of you still interested or if you're interested in that question is a protein-based vaccine so it's an alternate to the MRNA vaccines like fiser and madna you'll remember those names maybe uh it's been a good vaccine and it's safe and effective vaccine uh the one that they have this year is not as tailored to the um kp3 strains that are kind of circulating it's been authorized in the states um and uh it may be authorized in the Canadian context now we haven't gotten the guidance yet so I don't know for sure but it has uh been rumored that we won't have access in Canada to novavax vaccine I think um uh you know uh that will be a little bit challenging for those who have accessed That vaccine before some people have an allergy or can't get the MRNA vaccines and that's been a good alternative for them um uh what I will say is every year procurement of vaccines is a complex process that the governments usually provincial governments but in the case of covid the federal governments really LED um undertakes and I know there's a lot of factors that go into decisions on procurement so I'm sure there's been lots of thinking and thought to that that um in the decisions uh that are made in other vaccines sometimes one brand or one version or another has to be prioritized just because of either you know budgets or other procurement related decisions so I'm sure that the folks um that are working on this have been trying really hard and putting a lot of thought into it uh unfortunately I don't have more info to add on Novac specifically so with that I will [Music] um uh I will thank uh those of you yep a few more thank yous in the um chat there thanks so much for joining feel free to share this with uh uh friends family colleagues that may have questions as well and again stay tuned for the precise go live dates on covid and flu vaccines I'm hopeful that um we'll get information soon and also since we have seen some covid through the summer hopefully it'll Abate a little bit so that once we get vaccinating with covid there'll be plenty of time for people to get protected before we see you know an increase again which has happened to be every three or four months in the last uh five years of covid here four or five four years of covid so um hopefully uh that protection will be in place by then so with that I'll say thanks for joining I hope you have a wonderful rest of your Tuesday and a good transition back to fall for those of you with little kiddos like me going into school I hope it is a smooth good healthy safe transition and uh we will talk soon please feel free to reach out if there's more questions or anything we can help with take care bye