Go on, get your jab

Get your flu shot. It’s good for you and it’s good for the people around you.

That’s the consistent message from public health authorities, but it often falls on deaf ears. In fact, every year more than two-thirds of us don’t bother to get the flu vaccine, putting ourselves and others at risk of getting a potentially serious disease.

It’s been a fairly routine flu season so far in the Toronto area. But the experts say the number of cases is rising and the peak may be a few weeks away.

That means there’s still time to get a shot. They’re easily available through doctors’ offices, public health clinics and many pharmacies.

Even an average flu season is deadly. According to Health Canada, in a typical year more than12,000 Canadians end up in hospital with influenza and some 3,500 die. The disease is particularly dangerous for the elderly, very young children and others whose immune systems are weak.

The best protection is getting a flu shot every season, but vaccination rates are stuck far below the 80-per-cent level that health experts say is the goal.

That’s not because of the tiny minority of militant “anti-vaxxers” who oppose all vaccinations on principle. It’s mainly because most people don’t think getting a flu shot is necessary or simply can’t be bothered.

That’s dangerous. Anyone who doesn’t get a shot has a higher risk of getting the flu. Just as important, they’re more likely to pass it on to other people, including the most vulnerable.

This year the experts are worried that the worst part of the flu season is still ahead of us. They’ve seen a bad season in the southern hemisphere (particularly Australia), which is often a predictor of what’s in store for us.

The flu virus also mutates every season, and this year there’s concern that the vaccine may not be very effective against two common strains of flu, known as H3N2 and the influenza B virus.

Nonetheless, the vaccine offers the best available defence. Even if you get a shot and then come down with the flu, the symptoms are likely to be less severe. And there’s evidence that getting a shot every year provides some cumulative protection.

The bottom line is: get the jab. You’ll be doing yourself — and the rest of us — a favour.