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Ottawa
Health officials brace for a severe flu season, urge people to get vaccinated
October 30, 2025
It is a public health message that goes out every fall, but this year the calls for people to get vaccinated against flu and COVID are more urgent.
Health officials are bracing for a severe flu season and urging residents to get vaccinated against flu, COVID-19 and RSV, if they are eligible. The message comes at a time when many hospitals are already overcrowded.
Dr. Virginia Roth, chief of staff at The Ottawa Hospital, is among those urging people to get vaccinated, especially those at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19, flu and RSV. Health officials are concerned because of the severe flu seasons reported in Australia and elsewhere.
“We have been watching it and we are bracing ourselves for a pretty severe flu season,” Roth says.
In addition to people protecting themselves, high vaccination rates help to protect the health system by giving already busy hospitals a break from what could be an extreme surge of patients.
Even before viral season has begun, The Ottawa Hospital is already well over capacity.
“We are facing higher volumes than usual and it is before respiratory season,” Roth says.
The Civic campus of The Ottawa Hospital was at around 110 per cent capacity as of Oct. 30, with the General campus at 106 per cent capacity.
Health officials brace for a severe flu season, urge people to get vaccinated
October 30, 2025
It is a public health message that goes out every fall, but this year the calls for people to get vaccinated against flu and COVID are more urgent.
Health officials are bracing for a severe flu season and urging residents to get vaccinated against flu, COVID-19 and RSV, if they are eligible. The message comes at a time when many hospitals are already overcrowded.
Dr. Virginia Roth, chief of staff at The Ottawa Hospital, is among those urging people to get vaccinated, especially those at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19, flu and RSV. Health officials are concerned because of the severe flu seasons reported in Australia and elsewhere.
“We have been watching it and we are bracing ourselves for a pretty severe flu season,” Roth says.
In addition to people protecting themselves, high vaccination rates help to protect the health system by giving already busy hospitals a break from what could be an extreme surge of patients.
Even before viral season has begun, The Ottawa Hospital is already well over capacity.
“We are facing higher volumes than usual and it is before respiratory season,” Roth says.
The Civic campus of The Ottawa Hospital was at around 110 per cent capacity as of Oct. 30, with the General campus at 106 per cent capacity.