With cases of flu, RSV, and COVID-19 expected to rise as people gather for the holidays these next few weeks, the Northern Health Region says it’s never too late to get vaccinated to protect from severe illness.

Medical officer of health Doctor William Libich says immunization rates for the north are lower than the provincial average, and that there has been a spike in children seeking care for respiratory illnesses in the region compared to previous years.

“There has been an increase in the number of pediatric patients visiting the Northern clinics and the emergency departments and that comes straight from our medical leads and our Northern Emergency Department physicians. They are seeing a marked increase of influenza and other respiratory pathogens in children. We don’t think things are worse in the North compared to the South and Winnipeg but we know that Southern rates are already very high, much higher than what we would normally expect this time of year.”

Libich says there’s still a lot of vaccine available for people who haven’t gotten the flu shot or COVID-19 booster, and encourages residents to visit protectmb.ca to find out where they can get vaccinated.

Hear the full update on Thompson Today at 12:40 and 5:10 this afternoon.