Still not too late for flu shot

CORNER BROOK - It's not too late to receive a flu shot this year.

In the western region, public health nurses and physicians have given nearly 20,000 doses of the influenza vaccine over the past month - representing about one of four people in this region being protected against the flu virus.

If you're not one of those people, Western Health officials encourage you to call your family doctor or local public health office to see if you qualify to get a flu shot. The main target groups locally are persons age 65 and older, those with chronic disease (diabetes, asthma, heart problems), and infants from six to 23 months of age.

Carol Galliott, communicable disease control nurse with Western Health, said they had planned to deliver 23,000 doses this year - an increase over previous years - and have supply left to continue with the immunization program here.

So far, there are no reported cases of influenza in the province.

Last year there were 187 lab reported cases provincially - a significant decline from the number of cases in 2004, according to Galliott. She believes there is a correlation between the decline and the increased participation in the immunization program in recent years.

"We are certainly hoping the immunization program of the last number of years has been helping us all," Galliott told The Western Star. "The number of immunizations has increased, since 2004, probably five per cent."

The nurse cautions that it is only early in the flu season to be concentrating on the fact there has been no reported influenza cases.

The flu season in Newfoundland and Labrador usually starts around the end of December or early January and lasts until April.

"The flu shot is your best protection against the influenza virus," Galliott said. "The protection from the vaccine begins to appear as early as one week after the shot.
"... The goal of the influenza program is to prevent serious illness and complications caused by this flu. The flu is much worst than a cold.

It causes tiredness, headaches, high fevers and aching muscles. It reduces the body's ability to fight off other infections. It can cause serious health-related illness for the very young, people over 65, and others with certain medical conditions. For the general population, it can impact our family life and our work."

Galliott also expressed the importance of preventing the spread of the virus through hand washing, covering your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, and cleaning common shared areas. She said it is also important for people with colds or flu-like illnesses to stay at home from school or work when they are sick.

A new flu shot is needed annually because the influenza virus changes itself often, requiring a new vaccine each season to "hopefully" match the strains of flu that will arrive in the province.