Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Alex Summers warns that a particularly heavy flu season has just begun. “We have every reason to believe that we will see significant flu activity this year,” he said. This follows warnings from the director of pediatric emergencies at the London Health Sciences Center (LHSC), who told CBC News in October that local hospitals are bracing for high wait times and flu infections this season. Based on Australia’s flu season, which typically precedes Canada’s, that prospect may not be far off, although comparisons from Australia’s flu season don’t always paint an accurate picture, Summers said. . In addition, due to public health measures over the past two years, influenza infections have been significantly reduced. “That means our population hasn’t actually been infected with the flu in a long time, which means all of us are probably susceptible to getting infected this year,” Summers said. Dr Alex Summers is the Chief Medical Officer for Middlesex-London Health Unit. (Kate Dubinski/CBC)
Why bother with a flu shot?
With flu infections expected to increase this year, Summers acknowledged that it’s clear there will be increased pressure on the local health care system. Patients with other viruses and respiratory ailments are already overwhelming Toronto hospitals, threatening to cause surgery cancellations and bringing hospitals in Ontario’s most populous city to about 160 percent capacity. This has resulted in Ontario hospitals being asked to admit children aged 14 and over to adult intensive care units. In London, no pediatric patients have been admitted to the adult ICU and the children’s hospital was at 105 percent capacity as of Thursday afternoon, hospital officials said in a statement. “This is really a reason why we can all play our part to take care of ourselves, protect the system and protect our neighbors through vaccination,” Summers said. A London pharmacist told CBC News that she has seen a decrease in the number of people coming in for flu shots during the pandemic and hopes that with the ease of the flu shot, uptake will be higher this year. “We’re definitely seeing an uptake when people come in for the COVID shot, to get the flu shot at the same time or vice versa,” said Lizanne Pretorius, pharmacist and owner of two Shoppers Drug Mart locations in London. He also reiterated the importance of getting the flu shot, citing it as an easy and simple way to reduce pressure on the health care system and ensure personal safety. Pretorius added, she has seen some vaccination fatigue after the multiple COVID-19 shots people have had. This is something Dr. Alex Summers has also noted. “I think as we sit here today that people definitely have some fatigue about vaccination and thinking about respiratory illnesses like COVID and influenza,” Summers said. “The good news is that it’s very easy to get your shot.” Most pharmacies in London provide flu shots for children aged two and over. Here is one list of pharmacies that provide them.
