THUNDER BAY -- Mike Harding does not want to get the flu this season.
“I really don’t want to give the flu to my children or anybody else for that matter,” he said Monday afternoon after receiving a flu shot at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
The health unit added another walk-in flu clinic Monday afternoon after learning of two confirmed cases of influenza A in Thunder Bay. The outbreak on the second and third floors of Bethammi Nursing Home has also been confirmed to be influenza A.
Harding has had the flu before and said getting the flu shot was an easy decision.
“I was sick for a couple of days. I didn’t feel good for about a week. It’s not something you really want. This is the best way other than locking yourself in the house I guess and never going out,” he said.
Manager of infectious disease programs Darlene Binette said so far this flu season, they’ve administered about 10,000 flu shots. That’s in addition to the shots given by family doctors, pharmacists and other health care providers.
“We are looking at an early onset of influenza in our community,” said Binette. “We want to ensure individuals are protected early rather than later.”
With the confirmed cases, the health unit added Monday’s clinic to get more people immunized. The auditorium was full within the first 10 minutes of the clinic.
If more confirmed flu cases are reported, Binette said they will look at adding more clinics in the future.
“We want to keep monitoring the situation to determine if there are more cases that we are seeing in the community,” she said.
Symptoms of the flu include headaches, sore throat, fever, aches and pain and they can last anywhere from a week to 10 days, said Binette, adding people will know when they have the virus.
“You almost feel like a truck’s run over you,” she said.
The flu clinic schedule can be found online at www.thunderbayflu.ca or call the flu line at 624-9082.
