Get your flu shot, say health experts who warn this year will be worse than last

As temperatures start to drop, doctors and pharmacists are beginning to prepare themselves for what could be a bad flu season.

Last winter, the cold and flu season was a mild one, largely because people stayed home amid closures and lockdowns.

But now that Waterloo region is starting to open back up, and more and more people are getting out of the house to socialize, some experts say this season is expected to be much worse than what we saw in 2020.

Patty Vamvakitis, a pharmacist at Pharmasave Carriage Crossing in Waterloo, Ont., says that with larger, indoor gatherings happening the spread of the flu is inevitable.

To counter that, she says, getting the flu vaccine is a big part of staying healthy and avoiding one major cause of respiratory illness.

The flu can be deadly

The COVID-19 vaccine provides no immunity to the influenza virus, and the flu should not be underestimated, said Vamvakitis.

"The flu and pneumonia are still one of the top 10 reasons for hospitalizations and deaths in Canada, even before COVID," Vamvakitis said.

She said this is especially true for people with underlying health conditions, as well as pregnant people and young children. While most people will only get mild to moderate symptoms for maybe a couple of weeks, Vamvakitis says the flu shot helps prevent people from landing in the hospital.

She said she recognizes that some people may be hesitant to get a flu shot because they may be under the impression that getting vaccinated against the flu will in turn give them the flu. Not true, says Vamvakitis. In fact, she said it's impossible to catch the flu because the flu shot is inactive — that means there are no active traces of the flu virus within the vaccine.

Protecting yourself from the flu is "just a good health decision, especially in the midst of COVID, to avoid getting a respiratory virus where the symptoms between the two are fairly indistinguishable," said Vamvakitis.

So how do you know if you're eligible for the flu shot? Vamvakitis says doctors can administer the vaccine to children 6 months and older, pharmacies can give the vaccine to children five years and older, although last year there was an exception made to allow pharmacies to give the shot to children aged two and older.

Will there be enough doses?

Demand for the flu vaccine spiked last year, leading many to scramble to get the shot last year. 

The province has said it has ordered more doses this year than last but it's not clear when they will arrive, so Vamvakitis says it's important to listen to announcements on when shots will be available and then contact your pharmacy or doctor's office to find out whether or not you'll need an appointment.

For those who are not yet fully vaccinated, Vamvakitis said they will need to be careful in how they time their flu vaccine and first and second doses of the COVID vaccine. She explained the general consensus is that there should be at least two weeks between each shot out of an "abundance of caution."

She noted the U.S. has already approved getting both the flu and the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time. She says that option has been proven to be safe and effective based on a large study done in Europe, so time will tell whether Ontario will follow suit.