Prospects for this year’s flu season have health authorities girding for the worst given many Ontario hospitals are already operating at capacity before the potentially deadly bug becomes widespread. Their message is simple: get a free flu shot at a pharmacy, doctor’s office or public clinic to boost your odds of staying out of a crowded emergency room by half. “The system is quite fragile at the moment,” Anthony Dale, president of the Ontario Hospital Association, warned Tuesday. “The best thing in those circumstances is always to get the flu shot.”Health Minister Christine Elliott said the Ontario government has increased its vaccine order by 10 per cent, including high-dose shots aimed at giving those 65 and over increased protection, among other measures to help the health-care system deal with the inevitable increase in patients. “We are actively advertising for people to go and get the flu vaccine, if not for themselves to protect others around them.”A bad experience in Australia, where the flu hit early and hard this year, has fuelled concerns about what could happen here — even if the southern hemisphere’s experience doesn’t always translate to North America.“The fire under our feet has been, wow, what if it’s a year like they had in Australia where it started early and there is a high sustained activity through a lot of the influenza season,” said Dr. Suzy Hota, medical director of infection prevention and control at the University Health Network.“That would be a big stress on our system if we end up having high numbers of patients for a prolonged period of time.”In just one example of preparations, the agency Critical Care Services Ontario has a stockpile of ventilators available for hospitals that run out of machines to keep critically ill flu patients breathing, as outlined in a 16-page “planning guide for respiratory pathogen season” prepared ...
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