It's Not Too Late to Get Your Flu Shot

Public health officials say it's not too late to get a flu shot after reporting today, Dec. 12, there has been little flu activity across Canada so far this season.

"The response this year to the flu campaign has been excellent, but there is still flu vaccine available across the province and we continue to urge people in high-risk groups to get immunized," said Dr. Rob Strang, medical officer of health in charge of the province's flu campaign. "We have yet to see any lab-confirmed cases of influenza in Nova Scotia yet, but the flu season normally does not appear until after Christmas. The vaccine is safe and effective, and those at risk should consider being immunized."

The Department of Health is providing free vaccine for the following groups through family doctors and public-health clinics in the province:

• seniors over 65;
• adults and children with chronic heart and lung problems, and other chronic diseases;
• all health-care workers; and
• household contacts of seniors over 65 and adults and children with chronic illnesses.

It's estimated that between 300 and 400 people die each year in Nova Scotia because of complications from the flu. In addition, every year in Nova Scotia, about 20,000 visits to doctors and more than 2,500 hospitalizations are the result of complications from the illness.

A flu shot protects the health of older seniors and people with chronic illnesses. Both groups can get very sick if they catch the flu. Immunizing health-care workers also helps protect people who, because of their age or health, may not receive as much protection from an annual flu shot. Household contacts are people who live with or are in close contact with any member of a high- risk group. They should be immunized for the same reason as health-care workers.

Once again, the Department of Health is funding flu vaccine for health-care workers to encourage immunization for staff and volunteers who work with patients and residents in the province's health-care facilities and in other community settings.

"We're seeing an increase in the number of health-care workers choosing to be immunized and we have every reason to believe that the numbers this flu season will be even higher," said Dr. Strang. "We want these numbers to increase every year because it's these workers, more than any other members of the public, who are capable of transmitting the influenza virus to people who are at risk for severe illness and serious complications."

This year's flu immunization campaign is a project of the Department of Health in co-operation with district health authorities, the Lung Association of Nova Scotia, the Medical Society of Nova Scotia, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Association of Health Organizations, Nova Scotia Nurses Union, the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia, the Senior Citizens Secretariat, the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Alzheimer's Society of Nova Scotia, the Continuing Care Association of Nova Scotia, Victoria Order of Nurses, the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, Canadian Pensioners Concerned Nova Scotia, the infectious diseases division of the QEII Department of Medicine and the Canadian Cancer Society--Nova Scotia Division.