Hamilton pharmacist is bracing for a bad flu season and suggests everyone get the vaccine
Published September 13, 2022 at 5:30 pm
After two years of wearing masks and staying home, influenza cases have been down but that will likely change this year.
Australia had a bad flu season and their experience is often a predictor for North America. Health experts believe North America will also have flu bad season this year.
Hamilton pharmacist Bhupinder Nagra tells intheHammer that Canada always looks to Australia whose flu season starts during their winter (June to August).
“We always follow Australia,” Nagra says. “They had record numbers.”
Now that people have stopped wearing masks, the flu can more easily spread through the community, he adds.
Nagra, who works at the Garth Street Shoppers Drug Mart, says people are already calling to get the flu shot.
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“We’re getting a lot of phone calls now,” he says.
While nearly half of Canadians (47 per cent) say they are tired of hearing about vaccines, Nagra says many seniors and vulnerable people want to get a flu shot.
The shots should be available at pharmacies in mid-October with immunocompromised people and the senior population offered the first shots.
Most pharmacies have online booking systems and accept drop-ins. The shots are covered under OHIP.
Nagra said adults can get the flu shot and COVID-19 booster (if needed) at the same time. Children under 12 years old should wait a couple of weeks between the shots, he adds.
It is possible to get both COVID-19 and the flu. To avoid getting either, Nagra says just get the shots as soon as possible.
“It’s so easy to come in or book an appointment and get it out of the way and sooner the better,” says Nagra. “Even though they can take can get these flu shots going into December or January, but in the fall, in October and November, that’s the best time to get it’s for the best protection.”
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