Hospitalization rates for illnesses like COVID, flu have doubled since pre-pandemic, report finds

A close-up of a patient's hand as they lay in a medical bed. A health-care worker wearing a gown and gloves attends to them.

Striking new data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) shows hospitalization rates for vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases more than doubled in 2024, compared to pre-pandemic levels, all while vaccination rates are backsliding.