Earlier this week, we hosted a webinar with Manitoba Public Health about the upcoming respiratory season. Below you will find a summary, with key links, as well as a way to watch the webinar on-demand.

Here are some key highlights:

• Dr. Natalie Casaclang, a Medical Officer of Health, provided an outlook for the 2024/25 respiratory illness season. Based on the experience in the Southern Hemisphere, the outlook looks like an average level of respiratory virus activity, with some variations compared to the previous year. 
  
• An analysis of last year’s ICU admissions found most admissions with respiratory issues had not received the current season’s COVID or flu vaccines, and most had co-morbidities putting them further at risk. Most also had many encounters with health care providers in the weeks and months before their ICU admission. 
  
• Dr. Brent Roussin strongly encouraged physicians to proactively offer both influenza and COVID seasonal vaccines to patients this fall as patients are in for visits, and pneumococcal vaccine for those age 65+. This includes not only family physicians and pediatricians, but also other specialty clinics as well.
• Registration is now open for clinics interested in offering seasonal vaccines. Please register now through Manitoba Health. Registration is required for all clinics, even those who were registered last year. Vaccine will be delivered bi-weekly at the start of the program. Clinics should request 4 weeks of supply on their first order, though it may be shipped out in smaller batches over the first month. The first orders should ship in early October, dependent on when vaccines arrive in Manitoba.
• Inventory reporting is no longer required. The Vaccine Clinic Locator Map will not include inventory info, instead advising the public to contact a location to confirm availability.
• Billing tariffs are in place for COVID, flu and pneumococcal vaccines for this season. Physicians are reminded that now, these tariffs can be claimed even when the immunization is fully delegated to competent clinic staff. Visits can also be billed by the physician when there’s additional assessment, advice or monitoring required.

Product availability this year:

• Influenza:
  o For those age 6+ months and under 65 (Tariff 8791): Flulaval Tetra Quadrivalent (MDV) or Fluzone Quadrivalent (MDV & PFS)
  o For those age 65+ (Tariff 8775): High Dose Fluzone HD Quadrivalent (PFS)
• COVID-19: Only mRNA vaccines that contain the KP.2 strain will be available this season:
  o Moderna for ages 6 months and older (Tariff 8161)
  o Pfizer for ages 12 years and older (Tariff 8160)
  o Note: both products now have extended refrigerator storage time of 50 – 70 days depending on the product.
• Pneumococcal
  o Conjugate-15-Valent (Tariff 8222)
  o Conjugate-20-Valent (Tariff 8223)

Take Action!

• Please register now through Manitoba Health to order seasonal vaccines
• Watch the webinar on-demand