Free Flu Shot Clinics Open Across Ontario
Posted October 30, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There are a few things you can always count on heading into this season: it’s going to get colder, the Christmas decorations will go up in stores the day after Halloween and you’re going to see a lot of information about getting that flu shot.
And of all the regularly scheduled items on your calendar at this time of year, that last one may be the most important. Free flu clinics opened Tuesday across most of Ontario and will be around well into the New Year.
Influenza can be a killer, sickening thousands and taking an estimated 4,000 lives last year, according to health experts. While there are concerns that this year’s vaccine may be only about 50-60 per cent effective against the strains experts predicted will be coming this way, all doctors feel that some protection is better than none at all.
“It is really too early to say I think whether the vaccine is a complete match with the strains that are circulating or not,” cautions Toronto’s Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe. “So far the tests that we’ve done on a small number of cases in Toronto have shown a good match and we think that it will be if not an excellent match, it will still be a lot of cross protection and at least 60 per cent effective. It’s still the best thing you can do to protect yourself and others from the flu.”
The best part of the program is that the shots are free and you can get them at your doctor or at any of the hundreds of flu clinics set up around the province. You can find the ones nearest you here.
While the vaccine isn’t foolproof, it’s a good start. And even if you’re healthy overall and rarely get the disease, if you’re in regular contact with young children or the elderly, you should still consider the needle. The reason? You could carry the bug and spread it, even if you don’t wind up getting ill. Which is why – with apologies to that old Brylcreem commercial – a little jab’ll do ya.
That’s what brought eager ‘early adopters’ out to the Eaton Centre for the first day of vaccinations. “I’ve seen 75 and they say you should get it. So why not?” asks Bob Brash. “And it’s worked for me. I’ve never had the flu.”
Katalina Yokingco isn’t a senior, but she’s close to them. “I live with my senior elderly parents so it’s good for me to have,” she reasons.
And for Bruce Robinson, old habits die hard. “I’ve been getting my flu shot for years,” he shrugs. “Plus I make sure everybody in my family gets one too.”
There’s no cure for the flu – it’s one of those aggravating diseases you’ve just got to wait out. Which means the best treatment remains prevention. How can you keep yourself from the bug’s bite?
- Wash your hands thoroughly and often using soap and warm running water, especially after using the washroom, before and after eating, coming into contact with high touch surfaces like doorknobs, public transit poles, and after blowing your nose or sneezing.
- Keep an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (gel or wipes) handy at work, home, and in the car.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you sneeze or cough. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve – not your hands. Put those used tissues in the garbage immediately.
- Avoid sharing food, eating utensils, towels or handkerchiefs, especially with children, who engage in activities that more frequently transmit disease.
- Anyone 65 years of age and older who is getting a flu shot should also get the pneumococcal vaccine at the same time to help prevent Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD), if they haven’t already had the pneumococcal vaccine.
Flu and Kids
No parent wants to expose their child to unnecessary risk. But in most cases, getting the flu shot won’t do that. Why should you consider giving an aye to this needle? “Children under two year of age are very high risk,” Yaffe relates. “[Ages] five to nine can spread the flu to others. It’s a very important group to immunize. We also know that pregnant women are an important group to immunize. They’re at very high risk for themselves and their baby.”
Here are the facts about the shot in the arm and your family.
- Healthy children, particularly those 6 to 23 months of age, should receive the vaccine, since they can develop influenza illness and serious complications. Only children 6 months of age and older can be vaccinated.
- Children under 9 getting vaccinated for the first time need two doses of vaccine – the second dose at least one month after the first.
- Children and teenagers who have been treated with aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) for long periods may have an increased risk of developing Reye’s syndrome if they get the flu.
- Children with chronic medical conditions are at increased risk of flu-related complications.
- The vaccine is safe and well tolerated by healthy children. There’s no evidence that it can cause neurological conditions such as autism, attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity disorder.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care