Flu season 'imminent' in B.C., experts warn while urging vaccination
For nearly two years, health care professionals have been urging people to take precautions against the coronavirus. But there’s another respiratory illness people should also be mindful of: influenza.
Port Coquitlam pharmacist Ajit Johal, who is also clinical director of Immunize.co, a non-profit that aims to improve education and access to vaccination in the province, is concerned people will not take the flu seriously this year.
“I think the complacency sets in after last year's influenza season, where we saw record low levels of transmission. So we don't want people to think that that virus has gone away,” Johal said. “We have to be very mindful that influenza, like many other diseases, is very unpredictable, so being low one season and high the next.”
He said there was a “mad dash” for the flu shot at the start of the season last October and November, but that demand tapered off.
He’s hoping to see the same enthusiasm this season.
The flu shot may be even more necessary this year, as some doctors are already seeing other respiratory viruses -- like parainfluenza, respiratory syncytial and rhinovirus -- in the community.
“I’m worried that as we start going out, schools are open, economy is open, there's more interaction between people and we may see a much stronger flu season, which may result in a ‘twindemic’ of COVID and the flu,” said Dr. Ran Goldman, a pediatrician and UBC professor.
Goldman said thousands of Canadians die from flu complications each year and it is important to reduce those complications by getting immunized against the virus.
“It's imminent; it's coming," Goldman said, adding that the best thing the public can do is get vaccinated.
“We have to continue (to) listen to public health. Those measures have helped tremendously, both with COVID and the flu."
Unlike the COVID-19 vaccines, flu vaccines are eligible for anyone six months and older, and Goldman urges parents to take their children to get the shot.
Meanwhile, Johal said people can get both a COVID-19 vaccine, whether it is the first or second dose, and the flu vaccine at the same visit.
Health care professionals expect the flu shot will be available in the coming weeks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.