In her update of Nov. 3, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer, responded to people dismissing COVID-19 as the flu.
She says there are similarities between the two, but several key differences as well.
The first difference she points out is that we have a vaccine for the flu, but none for COVID-19.
The second difference she outlines is that COVID-19 is more deadly than influenza, especially seasonal influenza.
“While the true mortality of COVID-19 will take some time to fully understand, the preliminary data is clear.
“In the last four influenza seasons, the peak number of deaths we have recorded in a full year is 92.
“In just eight months, there have been 338 deaths from COVID-19, despite taking extraordinary measures to contain transmission.”
Another difference is the much larger impact COVID has on our health system.
Looking at the past five years, the most influenza outbreaks in a single year in an acute care setting was 40, in the 2017-18 season. Dr. Hinshaw says that despite our aggressive measures to limit transmission, we have already had more than 40 outbreaks in acute care settings in six months.
“This is not to minimize the impact of influenza, or the importance of getting your flu shot – which I am strongly recommending.
“But it is important to highlight that we cannot treat this virus as something that our health system can easily absorb, or something that will simply depart when spring arrives.
“COVID-19 is here and it’s not going away anytime soon. The onus is on us to adapt, and to embrace the measures that will keep us safe and limit the spread, while continuing to live and function as a society.”