Don't forget the seasonal flu vaccine

It's unlikely we'll be spared from influenza like last year

More than 87 per cent of eligible Quebecers are now fully vaccinated. COVID case numbers, meanwhile, have been on a downward curve. Fingers and toes crossed that the trend continues.

Not far away, however, looms the regular flu season. It slowly crept up on us, ironically while we were focused on getting everyone vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Evidently because of the good habits we picked up — hand-washing, masking, distancing — the seasonal flu did not make much of an appearance last year. This year, however, respiratory illnesses seem to be making the rounds. As I wrote in this space, my own family fell ill recently, starting with my daughter when she came home with a sore throat. Thankfully she tested negative for COVID.

It was a dreadful four weeks, as my entire household got sick, one at a time. As bad as I felt, I felt worse for my kids. Parents are like that. We'd do anything to keep our children from falling ill.

As we follow the COVID case numbers with guarded optimism, we must be mindful of the heavy toll the pandemic has taken on our health care system. We must do everything we can to avoid burdening it further with cases of respiratory illnesses and the seasonal flu. Keep in mind, too, the looming deadline for unvaccinated health-care workers to get their jabs in order to stay on the job. Presumably some or maybe even many will be removed from their positions, thus straining the system even more.

Get your flu vaccine and get it early ... not when flu season is in full swing.

During one of several visits to the clinic when my family was ill, the doctor explained our bodies have not built up the antibodies needed to guard against many of the viruses that have been circulating because we've had so many fewer interactions with other people during the pandemic. So we need to be extra careful or face the prospect of having nasty viruses tearing through our schools, workplaces and homes.

And the seasonal flu can be nasty, believe me. I learned the hard way a couple of years ago when I neglected to take my son for a flu shot. As I wrote at the time, watching your child suffer is awful. My son went to bed on New Year's Eve with runny eyes and the sniffles and woke up the next morning with a full-blown case of influenza, including high fever. “He was a diminished version of his usual rambunctious, active self,” as I put it.

Another thing to keep in mind: It's not so simple to be seen by a doctor these days while presenting with COVID-LIKE symptoms (cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever). I had to arrange for my daughter and me to be tested for COVID before we were seen at the clinic. For working parents with young children, it can get very complicated when multiple family members get sick.

Best thing is to try to avoid a doctor's visit altogether. Get your flu vaccine, and get it early, in October or November, not when flu season is in full swing.

For the record, flu vaccine coverage for adults last season (2019-20) was similar to the coverage in the previous season — 42 per cent, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. And only four in 10 Canadian adults with chronic medical conditions (44 per cent) received the flu shot last season, well short of the national goal of 80 per cent.

I've already booked my family for our flu shots. The process couldn't have been more simple. We went to the same website for booking COVID vaccines and selected the flu vaccine option instead. We were able to book appointments at a nearby pharmacy. You probably can too. It's worth a shot.