Flu shots now available to general public

Health and Lifestyle reporter Elise Copps says that one of the best ways you can protect yourself this winter is: the flu shot.

In most cities, the vaccine is available to the public as of Thursday. But many people don’t bother with it, because they underestimate how serious the flu can be.

It can be very serious in certain populations. Young kids, seniors, pregnant women and people with other health problems can get very ill and even die from the flu.

In a mild year, influenza kills about a hundred Canadians. In a bad year — more than 300.

But somehow, people are more concerned with catching Ebola than the flu.

Jocelyn Srigley, Infection Prevention, Hamilton Health Sciences: “The chance of something like Ebola coming here is actually very, very low. So you’re way more likely to come into contact with the flu.”

This year, the most common strain of flu appears to be h3n2. It hits seniors especially hard. But if more people get immunized, everyone has a higher level of protection.

Jocelyn Srigley: “That’s something called herd immunity. And that means that if a certain level of people in the population get their vaccine then the disease is unable to transmit between other people.”

It’s offered by clinics, family doctors and pharmacies. You need to bring your health card and complete a consent form before getting your shot. It’s safe for anyone older than 6 months, who isn’t allergic to the vaccine’s ingredients.

Jocelyn Srigley: “It does not contain any live virus. So it’s not possible to get sick from the flu vaccine itself.”

If you’ve been sick after a flu shot before, you may have caught the flu or another infection before getting immunized.

Kirk Wong, Pharmacist, Hamilton General Drugstore: “The vaccine usually generally takes about two weeks to have a good response in the body. And I think the sooner someone can get it, the better it will be.”

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get it later in the season — better late than never. Flu season typically lasts until February or March.

We talked a bit about herd immunity in the story. a lot of people say, they don’t need the flu shot, because they don’t get sick. Even if you don’t get serious symptoms, you could pass the flu on to someone more vulnerable, and they may be hit much harder than you.

Find a clinic or pharmacy through this Health Canada link.