"The flu shot continues to be the best way to prevent being infected, said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital. The message is: Get the flu shot, he told CBC Radio's Metro Morning this week. The flu is a nasty, nasty virus that can really land people in hospital. While the flu season is just starting in Ontario,"
"parts of the Southern Hemisphere have already seen a rise in cases above average for the second year in a row. The ongoing flu season abroad has been marked by record case counts, as well as an early start to the season across parts of Asia and the U.K. As Canada heads into the winter, it could be a bellwether of what's to come."
"The reason there's uncertainty is because the topic of vaccines has been top of mind for so long, said Sandra Hanna, a Toronto pharmacist and CEO of the Neighbourhood Pharmacist Association of Canada especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. There's more just a general fatigue, Hanna told CBC Toronto this week. We want to get back to that mentality that it is part of a routine practice to keep us healthy, not only individually, but as a population."
Flu activity is increasing in Ontario while parts of the Southern Hemisphere have already recorded above-average case counts and early seasons elsewhere. Public Health Ontario reported nearly two per cent of influenza tests positive from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1 and expects cases to rise in November, particularly among children. A circulating H3N2 influenza A strain is associated with more severe infections, especially in older adults, and may reduce vaccine-match effectiveness. Vaccine hesitancy and pandemic-related fatigue persist. Pharmacists and infectious-disease specialists emphasize routine immunization as the best way to prevent infection and hospitalizations.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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