Influenza now killing more Nova Scotians than COVID-19

For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Nova Scotians dying from influenza exceeds the number of COVID deaths.

According to the province's latest respiratory watch report, 124 Nova Scotians have died from influenza during the 2024-25 respiratory season, which runs from Aug. 25, 2024, and will go up until Aug. 29, 2025. There have been 108 COVID deaths so far this season.

Dr. Lisa Barrett, an infectious diseases doctor, said the fact there are fewer deaths due to COVID than influenza isn't any kind of positive development for the general population.

"Some people have said, 'Oh, thank goodness, we're back to normal,'" she said. "And I'm like, 'Well, now we've got two viruses — not just one — that are still in the really important category for hospitalizations, bad lungs and deaths."

Barrett said this year's global flu season was one of the worst of the last decade.

"Yes, influenza has taken over from COVID, but they're both higher than we'd like them to be," she said.

Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, said pandemics don't last forever and COVID-19 has become endemic. He said it is not surprising that influenza deaths have topped COVID-19 deaths.

"This is what we'd expect as we return to more of a normal respiratory virus season with a mix of viruses," he said.

Where COVID-19 dominated so much discussion in past years, other respiratory illnesses — influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in particular — didn't get nearly as much attention.

"For some people, we don't need to be as strongly afraid of COVID, but we need to be very respectful and take seriously all respiratory viruses," said Strang.

He's encouraging people to practise the same measures that were preached during the peak days of the pandemic. That means washing hands, wearing masks where appropriate, staying home during an illness and getting vaccinated.

But, on the latter point, fewer people are doing that.

Data provided by the province shows that while 29 per cent of the overall population got their flu shots for the 2024-25 season, it was only 18 per cent for COVID-19.

For the previous year's campaign, the percentages were 32.8 per cent and 22.8 per cent, respectively.

"These vaccines are very effective against preventing ... severe illness and death," said Strang. "That's what we should be focusing on. How do we reduce that number of respiratory virus deaths? And it's through vaccines."

Strang said the province will be expanding eligibility for the RSV vaccine this fall to include people 75 and above, regardless of where they live.

Previously, eligibility for the publicly funded vaccine was restricted to people 60 and above living in long-term care or in hospital awaiting long-term care placement.