Rattled Manitobans rushing to get flu shots after deaths of 2 young people, say doctor, pharmacist

More Manitobans are rolling up their sleeves for preventative shots after the unexpected deaths of two young people from the flu, providers say.

One walk-in clinic said it's seen three times as many patients looking for the shot this week compared to last week, while a pharmacist says he's administering about twice as many shots every day as he usually does at this time of year.

While many people are aware influenza can kill healthy young people, pharmacist Jason Hoeppner said, it still shocks people when it happens. 

"I think it shakes us a bit more when we see that, and kind of reminds us that it's not something to be taken lightly," said Hoeppner, who runs the Medicine Shoppe on south Osborne Street.

The uptick in vaccinations follows news this week of the deaths of a 17-year-old high school student and a 24-year-old woman. Their families say the deaths were due to influenza.

Hoeppner said he's now seeing more high school students and recent graduates at his pharmacy.

Shaken by death

"It's a younger sort of demographic than sort of our typical crowd," he said.

Not everybody explains why they're getting the vaccine, but a number of people, including those who are younger, are citing the unexpected deaths, he said.

Blaine Ruppenthal, a Grade 12 student at Kelvin High School in Winnipeg, died Monday after suffering complications from the flu.

Ruppenthal, 17, went into cardiac arrest twice on Jan. 7 and was rushed to St. Boniface Hospital, where he was put into an induced coma and received hypothermic therapy, according to a Facebook post from his cousin.

He had Type A influenza, she wrote.

Meanwhile, the death of Joanne Ens from Morden, Man., also made news this week. The 24-year-old contracted a bacterial infection she was unable to recover from, her obituary said.

Doctors believe she had influenza B, her husband said.

Health officials say the province is dealing with a spike in cases of Type A and Type B influenza. Occurrences of influenza B, though, are happening "at much higher levels than we normally see for this time of year," chief provincial public health officer Brent Roussin told CBC earlier this week. 

Last week, there were 70 lab-confirmed cases of influenza A and 67 cases of influenza B, bringing the total this flu season to 240 and 418 cases, respectively. 

To grapple with the surge in sick patients, overwhelmed hospitals are asking employees to work additional hours, while St. Boniface Hospital and Children's Hospital of Winnipeg postponed non-urgent surgeries because they don't have the space. 

Nesreen Moussa, a family physician at Seine River Medical Clinic, is noticing an increase in patients herself.

She said the walk-in clinic in southeast Winnipeg administered 25 flu shots from Jan. 4 to 11 of this year. That more than tripled in the five days following, when the clinic gave 84 shots.

Around 30 patients showed up on Thursday night, she said. 

"Most of them got worried" by the death of the high school student, Moussa said. They're "especially bringing their children now to get vaccinated."

The clinic offered no vaccinations for a month last fall due to a nationwide shortage. Moussa said the clinic is now running out and asking for another shipment. 

'Everybody is rushing' to get the shot

The province said Friday afternoon it has enough vaccine to meet the demand.

At least one Shoppers Drug Mart location (in Tuxedo Park) ran out of the vaccine, according to an email to customers. Loblaws did not respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.

Amal Awad, manager assistant at Prana Family Medical Centre on Regent Avenue, said "everybody is rushing" to get the vaccine, with many parents bringing in their kids.

The province said 22.5 per cent of Manitobans have received the seasonal influenza vaccine so far. It's too soon to say if there's been a spike in that number in the last few days, a spokesperson said. 

In south Osborne, Hoeppner said around a dozen people a day are getting the flu shot at his pharmacy right now. That's about double the usual number for mid-January, he said, when most people who want the vaccine have already received it. 

He still encourages people to get immunized. The flu season isn't over and will stretch until March, he said. 

"You can still protect yourself and those around you."