Flu vaccine: will you get yours?
- January 7, 2011 10:37 AM |
- By POV
By CBC News
Flu season has arrived early in Canada, in part because fewer people have been vaccinated than in previous flu seasons, health officials say.
"Every time I cough, it feels like someone's banging my head," said flu sufferer Michelle Gillis-Saltzman. The Toronto resident didn't get a flu shot this year and is now miserable with chills, fever and nausea.
Toronto's public health department is reporting a 20 per cent drop in vaccination rates.
Last year's H1N1 campaign may be partly to blame for the decline, said infectious disease specialist Dr. Allison McGeer of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
"People are kind of flued out," said McGeer. "There was a lot of publicity about the pandemic last year and it didn't feel as bad. It actually wasn't great when you look at the numbers, but it wasn't nearly as bad as we were expecting it to be."
Seasonal flu rates are spiking earlier than normal in parts of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Is the cold weather affecting your health? Do you think the flu shot is effective in protecting you or do you use other methods to avoid getting sick? Take our survey and join the discussion in the comments section below.
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