THUNDER BAY — City and area residents hoping to ward off the flu this season will soon be able to make arrangements to get vaccinated.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit has just received its allotment of this year's influenza vaccine.
TBDHU will begin distributing supplies to local health care providers next week.
On Monday, the health unit will also announce details of its plans for targeted flu clinics.
As it did last year, TBDHU will only hold clinics for children under five and their families.
Many local residents are vaccinated at a pharmacy, but pharmacies are not permitted to administer the flu vaccine to children under five.
One Thunder Bay pharmacy says it expects to start providing flu shots in about two weeks
The provincial health ministry recommends that people in the following three groups receive the vaccine as soon as it becomes available:
- Individuals at high risk of influenza-related complications or who are more likely to require hospitalization:
- All pregnant women
- People who are residents of nursing homes or other chronic care facilities
- People ≥ 65 years of age
- All children six to 59 months of age
- Indigenous peoples
- Adults or children 6 months of age and over with chronic health conditions as follows:
- cardiac or pulmonary disorders
- diabetes mellitus or other metabolic disease
- cancer
- conditions or taking medication which compromise the immune system (due to underlying disease, therapy or both)
- renal disease
- anemia or hemoglobinopathy
- neurologic or neurodevelopmental conditions
- morbid obesity (body mass index of ≥ 40)
- children and adolescents (six months to 18 years) undergoing treatment with acetylsalicylic acid for long periods
- Individuals capable of transmitting influenza to those listed in No.1 and/or to infants under six months of age:
- Health care workers and other care providers in facilities and community settings
- Household contacts (adults and children) of individuals at high risk of influenza related complications
- Persons who provide care to children ≤ 59 months of age
- Those who provide services within a closed or relatively closed setting to persons at high risk (e.g., crew on a ship)
- Swine and poultry industry workers.
The ministry says immunization for the general population can begin once the provincial supply of vaccine is replenished later in the month.
Health Minister Christine Elliot warned in July that the coming flu season could be more severe than usual, based on the experience in Australia, where the season started early and saw a larger number of cases than normal.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, last year 34 per cent of Canadians between 18 and 64 got the flu shot, and 70 per cent of seniors were immunized.
Public Health Agency added that due to a shortage at the manufacturing level only 55 per cent of total flu vaccine order is available right now, so some flu vaccination programs may be delayed.
