THUNDER BAY - With everyone already practicing public health measures such as physical distancing and proper hand hygiene to curb the spread of COVID-19, the seasonal flu or influenza is virtually non-existent in the region.
“There’s literally no flu,” said Dr. Janet DeMille, medical officer of health with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit. “It’s the combination of the COVID measures, which we know from experience from Australia, with all their COVID measures, they went through their flu season without much flu circulated at all.”
According to DeMille, the situation is very much the same in Northern Ontario. There are very few cases of influenza and no evidence of community spread.
While the influenza and COVID-19 are very different, they are both respiratory viruses that spread in similar ways.
“They are very different viruses but they have a lot of similarities in how they spread through droplets,” DeMille said. “And this was a big flu immunization campaign as well and there are a lot of people out there who are immune, so that is great.”
Exact numbers of how many flu vaccines were given in the district are not available yet but given the high demand and shortages of vaccines earlier in the flu season, DeMille believes the number of immunizations will be higher than normal.
Those who have not yet received a flu shot are still encouraged to do so. Flu shots are still available and there is now more supply. Anyone interested in getting a flu shot can contact local pharmacies or primary care physicians.
