THUNDER BAY – Flu season is back and officials in the Thunder Bay district hope people take the vaccination seriously.
Hundreds of area residents did just that Thursday, as the first free clinic opened its doors to the public at the Boys and Girls Club.
“Flu virus changes every year, so from season to season there could be variations in what we call the circulating strain,” said Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janet DeMille.
“The types of influenza that circulate in our communities and in the country can change from year to year that’s why it’s important to get immunized every year.”
DeMille recommends children as young as two years old, adults over the age of 65, pregnant women and anyone who works with those who could be at risk.
Resident Anita Fraser has seen what can happen when you skip the flu shot.
“I had a brother who didn’t get his, had H1N1 and ended up in the hospital,” Fraser said.
“The antibiotics they gave him caused a massive autoimmune response, and he is crippled now with severe rheumatoid arthritis in every joint because he didn’t get the flu shot.”
Fraser took her brother's experience seriously and has received the annual shot every year for the past five years.
Wendy Zeman said people believe you get sick after the flu shot, but that’s not the case.
“You already got the bug in you if you get sick, and it’s there for us to get protected against all those bad critters, so why not,” Zeman said.
Zeman added that she has always gotten a flu shot and in turn has never fallen ill from the flu.
Occasionally people do get sick after being vaccinated, but according to Dr. DeMille the vaccine still works to mitigate the symptoms.
“There’s other virus that actually cause symptoms similar to the flu, and the influenza virus vaccine won’t protect against those,” DeMille said.
“For some people, what actually might happen is that they will get the flu vaccine, but they will get sick with something else but they will call it the flu.”
DeMille said people can still get influenza even though they’ve had the vaccine, but it’s usually milder in nature.
(TBT News)
