P.E.I. health professionals encourage Islanders to get flu shots

Flu season is here, and a local pharmacist said he’s noticed an increase of people coming in to get their flu shots.

Kevin Thompson, who works at the Queen Street Shoppers Drug Mart in Charlottetown, said better awareness and the ease of availability in getting the flu shot are possible factors for the increase.

“There seems to be a lot more uptake,” he said. “We’ve given out more this year than last year.”

P.E.I.’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison said that as of late-November, 57,250 doses of the influenza vaccine have been distributed to pharmacies, public health nursing, physician offices and clinics across the province.

She said the rate of vaccine uptake has been “very steady”.

“We’ve actually obtained 4,000 additional doses of extra vaccine because of increased uptake in the early part of this season. We wanted to make sure we had more than we did last year.”

There’s still time for people to get their flu vaccine. Morrison said they tend to see an increase in cases in December and January, and the vaccine takes up to two weeks for it to be effective.

“It’s good to get it sooner so that it has a chance to build the immunity.”

As of Nov. 22, there have been two lab-confirmed cases of influenza on the Island, but

Morrison said they were travelrelated, and those affected were not hospitalized. Morrison wants to remind Islanders that influenza is a highly contagious virus that causes fever, sore throat, tiredness/fatigue, cough and muscle aches, and is spread through coughing and sneezing.

“You can even become infected if you touch an object that someone else with the flu has touched and then if you touch your own eyes or mouth after that,” she said, adding it’s respiratory so it comes in through the mucous membranes.

Everyone who is six months of age and older are encouraged to get the influenza vaccine.

This year’s shot protects against four strains of the influenza virus. While the flu shot isn’t going to prevent influenza 100 per cent of the time, Morrison said it reduces the risk of hospitalization and complications related to influenza. Both Morrison and Thompson encourage residents to get their flu shots.

“It’s obviously for protection for yourself against influenza, but it’s also protection for your family members,” Thompson. “The more people that get it, the more people get protected.”

“Stay at home if you’re sick, cough into your sleeve, and wash your hands a lot as well,” added Morrison.

For information about where to get the flu shot, visit princeedwardisland.ca/en/ information/health-pei/fluvaccination-clinics.