The provincial government and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) are encouraging Manitobans to get the flu shot, which is free for all Manitobans aged six months and older.
“I encourage all Manitobans to get the flu vaccine, but especially those at increased risk of serious illness from the flu, their caregivers, and close family and friends,” said Health Minister Cameron Friesen, who received his vaccination Oct. 24 at Grant Park Shoppers Drug Mart, in a press release. “The flu vaccine protects you and helps to protect those around you including infants, people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes or asthma, and those seeking treatment for cancer. It’s about them, too.”
Manitoba has received 84 per cent of its total allotment of the flu vaccine – 240,000 doses – so far and is expected to receive the remainder in the next few weeks. Last year’s flu season saw 17 people with lab-confirmed flu die in Manitoba and 42 get admitted to intensive care units, with 228 hospitalizations in total. Those numbers were down from 2017-18, when the province hit 10-year highs for deaths (46), ICU admissions (35) and hospital admissions (505) as a result of the flu.
About a quarter of Manitobans – 336,000 people – received the flu vaccine last flu season, establishing a record.
MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee held a press conference in Winnipeg Oct. 28 encouraging First Nations people across the province to get the flu vaccine.
“The flu vaccine takes about two weeks to start working, so it’s important to be proactive and get your shot now, before anyone gets sick,” he said in a press release. “Health research shows that Indigenous people are particularly vulnerable to an increased risk of serious illness from the flu. Making a habit of getting your flu shot every year is a great way to protect yourself and the people around you, at home and in your First Nation, from the very young to the elderly.”
The Northern Regional Health Authority said it is especially important for people 65 and older, residents of personal care home and long-term care facilities and children aged six months to five years old to get the flu vaccine. It is also recommended for people with immune systems weakened by disease or medical treatment, those with cardiac or pulmonary disorders, children and youth ged six months to 18 years old on long-term Aspirin therapy, people with neurologic or neurodevelopmental conditions, people with diabetes and other metabolic disease, and those with kidney disease, anemia or hemoglobinopathy. Other people more at risk from the flu include obese people, pregnant women, health care workers and first responders, and regular caregivers of children up to five years old.
The 2019-20 flu vaccine includes two strains of influenza A (H1N1 and H3N2) and two strains of influenza B. The nasal spray form of the flu vaccine will not be available in Canada for this flu season. The southern hemisphere flu season, which can be a predictor of the northern hemisphere flu season, was a moderate one.
Flu shot clinics are taking place Oct. 31 and later in Northern Manitoba communities including Cormorant, Cranberry Portage, Gillam, Ilford, Pikwitonei, Sherridon, Snow Lake, The Pas, Thicket Portage and Wabowden. Flu shots are given in Thompson from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday at the NRHA administration building next to the hospital. For a full schedule of upcoming NRHA flu shot clinics go the health authority’s website at www.northernhealthregion.com.
