CHEO asks family doctors to step up flu-fighting efforts

Ottawa·NewAs Ottawa faces a particularly punishing flu season, CHEO is asking doctors in the city to prioritize respiratory care for children, including working extra hours when possible.Flu levels in Ottawa very high according to latest updateCBC News · Posted: Dec 12, 2025 12:25 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.CHEO, eastern Ontario’s children’s hospital in Ottawa, is asking doctors and pediatricians in the city to put in extra hours to help deal with the current surge in flu cases. (Félix Desroches/CBC)As Ottawa faces a particularly punishing flu season, CHEO is asking doctors in the city to prioritize respiratory care for children, including working extra hours when possible.The children’s hospital made the request in a letter to family doctors and pediatricians Wednesday, a CHEO spokesperson confirmed Friday.In it, CHEO’s president and CEO Dr. Vera Etches thanked doctors for pitching in during a challenging flu season, and asked them to do even more.”If there are further opportunities to prioritize after hours and urgent appointments at your clinics for children with respiratory symptoms, this will continue to help with the demand,” she wrote.Etches, formerly Ottawa’s medical officer of health, said CHEO has had to utilize overflow areas due to the volume of patients it’s seeing.Her letter comes a little over a week after CHEO called on residents to get vaccinated against the flu amid a concerning rise in respiratory cases.Very high flu levelsAccording to Ottawa Public Health’s latest respiratory virus update, as of Dec. 6, flu indicators such as outbreaks, hospitalizations and wastewater signals were very high and rising.That included a wastewater signal that was about double what was seen at the peak of the previous two flu seasons.The green bar is the previous week’s average flu wastewater signal. The dotted line is the average of the last two flu seasons during the same week. (Ottawa Public Health)RSV levels were moderate to very high, which is seasonal, while COVID-19 levels were low to moderate, below levels seen in early December 2024 and 2023.