It is not too late to get a flu shot this year. It looks like we are in for a bad flu season.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BC CDC) reports that influenza activity had spiked just before the Christmas season to levels that place it above the seventy-fifth percentile compared to the same period during the prior 10 years of recorded flu activity.
So far we are getting off lightly compared to the United States, where the New York Times reported on Jan. 13, 2013, that the current flu season has officially reached ‘epidemic’ status on a national level. The Mayor of Boston declared a public health emergency in the face of a massive flu outbreak that has resulted in the deaths of 18 people through flu-related causes in Massachusetts.
Closer to home, Northern Health is recording a particularly virulent outbreak this year.
“Flu season has arrived,” said Eryn Collins, Northern Health communications officer. “It’s a little earlier and harsher than we’ve seen the last few years.”
Fortunately, this year’s flu shot contains an antibody to one of the dominant strains of the flu affecting North America this year - H3N2 Influenza A.
While getting the flu shot does not guarantee that you won’t come down with the flu, there is no way that a person can get the flu from getting the shot. The flu shot contains only dead samples of the virus.
The shot is still available in Burns Lake, so it’s not too late to roll up your sleeve.
“Northern Health is still recommending people get the flu shot,” said Collins. “They can obtain it through their local public health unit, and, in some cases, their physician or local pharmacists.”
Eligibility for free flu shots is not determined by Northern Health. The province makes those regulations but the range of people covered for a free shot generates a large list that many might find themselves in.
“It is a quite comprehensive list that covers a pretty wide-ranging group of people,” said Collins. “I would encourage people to check that list, and they would probably find that they qualify under one, if not more, of the categories.”