Fitzgerald urges more vaccines as flu season starts early
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Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief medical officer of health is urging residents to get a flu shot before the holidays.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said flu season has started early across Canada, and only 20 per cent of eligible people in Newfoundland and Labrador have gotten vaccinated so far.
“We don’t typically start seeing the peak … until after Christmas here, you know, the end of January,” Fitzgerald told reporters Thursday morning.
His concerns come across as a Influenza surge The cases among schoolchildren in Ontario are linked to several recent deaths in that province. This has prompted families to get vaccinated as medical experts prepare for a worsening wave of infections across all age groups.
Senior citizens and school children between five and nine years of age are most vulnerable.
“Children can get quite sick from the flu, and as we’ve seen in Ontario, unfortunately there have been some deaths. So we want to prevent that from happening,” Fitzgerald said.
Currently, very few children in Newfoundland and Labrador have received a flu shot.
“We’re seeing less than 10 percent of the pediatric population being vaccinated,” Fitzgerald said.
Recent federal data shows More than 20 percent of all influenza tests Positive results are now coming in, with the highest number being detected in people aged 19 and under.
NL’s worst flu season
Last year’s flu season was Newfoundland and Labrador’s worst ever, Fitzgerald said.
“There were more than 2,000 laboratory-confirmed cases and 743 hospitalizations, the highest number of cases we have ever recorded,” he told reporters in October.
This year’s flu shot is trivalent — meaning it can protect against three different strains of the circulating virus.
On Thursday, Fitzgerald said the flu vaccine will probably make some recipients sick for a few days — but that’s what it’s supposed to do.
“What I can tell you is that the side effects from the flu vaccine will be much worse,” she said. “Your immune system is functioning and doing the work it needs to do to help prepare your body to fight any viruses that come into your body.”
He said that the flu spreading around is not just a matter of smell.
“Flu is actually a very significant infection in itself. People usually feel very unwell with a high fever, not being able to get out of bed for several days to a week,” Fitzgerald said.
Public health is recommending that everyone six months of age and older get a flu shot as soon as possible.
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