WINNIPEG -- This past year has been stressful for many, including those on the front lines of COVID-19.

A new survey is shedding light on the fatigue and anxiety physicians are facing during the pandemic.

"I kind of feel like I've been running at 150 per cent for the past seven months trying to make all these changes," said Dr. Philippe Lagace-Wiens, a medical microbiologist at St. Boniface Hospital.

Lagace-Wiens said like many physicians, the pandemic has increased stress and fatigue, and has taken a toll on mental health.

"It kind of erodes into our leisure time that we would have had in the past," said Lagace-Wiens. "I find myself doing a lot more reading at home, feeling more like I don't have the time to either sleep or spend time with my family and kids."

According to a survey by the Canadian Medical Association, doctors are feeling higher levels of anxiety and exhaustion.

Of the 1,648 physicians surveyed between Fed. 18 and 22, 14.5 per cent were feeling very anxious due to the pandemic, while 49.7 per cent felt somewhat anxious. When it came to fatigue, 29.4 per cent felt very fatigued and 46.6 per cent felt somewhat fatigued. In both categories, about 8 to 9 per cent did not feel anxious or fatigued.

In the last year, 69.1 per cent of respondents said their anxiety and fatigue levels increased.

"What was most concerning to us was that only 16 per cent of those who reported higher levels of anxiety sought help," said Dr. Ann Collins, the Canadian Medical Association's president.

According to the survey, the top factors negatively contributing to the mental health of doctors were longer time with social restrictions, continued uncertainty about the future, and concerns about the vaccine rollout.

"In the early stages, it clearly had some bumps about supply, concerns about transparency of contracts," said Collins. "There were bumps in the road in terms of who were in the priority groups, who should be getting the vaccine."

With more people now being vaccinated and restrictions loosening, there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

"If we can roll this out quickly in the next several months, we will hopefully get back to a semblance of normal, and I say that cautiously," said Lagace-Wiens.

The survey also looked at the government's handling of the pandemic. More than half of the respondents rated provincial and territorial governments poorly in managing the vaccine rollout, and 61 per cent rated the federal government's vaccine supply strategy poorly.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.38 percentage points.