Are you ready? It’s here! And we’re just seeing the beginning of what will be the peak season. If you haven’t had your flu shot yet, this is the time to go, and remember that it takes two weeks to be fully effective. If you get your shot today you’ll have some protection before the first day of Hanukkah and Christmas, and it will be in full effect around December 28th. Here is an article from yesterday’s Toronto Star.
As predicted, H3N2 – a serous A strain – is proving to be dominant. The trivalent shot also contains H1N1 and a B strain, and the quadrivalent shot (most commonly given to children and seniors, who are at greater risk from B strains) contains H1N1, H3N2, and two B strains. Two years ago when H3N2 was also a dominant strain the virus mutated too soon after vaccine development, and so the vaccine became a poor match when the strain was circulating through the population. This year all signs point to the current vaccine being an excellent genetic match for the way the strain is presenting, which indicates that this is a good year for efficacy.
Let’s look at the numbers. So far there have been 1373 lab-confirmed cases throughout Canada, including 204 hospitalizations and several deaths. What’s important to know about looking at that number is that lab-confirmed cases represent a very small portion of overall cases. The majority of cases go without an official diagnosis as it is standard practice to treat the symptoms, rather than look for the cause, when someone is presenting with flu-like symptoms. Unless confirmed with testing, an illness will not be included in these numbers. The number of deaths is also approximate, because the records rely on reporting methods. For example, a person with a heart condition who contracts the flu, and has resulting complications that lead to heart failure, may not be recorded as an influenza death, but rather a coronary failure – despite the flu having been the catalyst.
We also may not know until months later whether some deaths can be attributed to the flu, like Jude’s. It was almost four months between his autopsy and our pathology report that allowed them to conclude that influenza B was the cause of his death.
This is it, everyone! This is what we’ve been priming for! If you’ve already gotten your flu shot, well done. If you’ve been hesitating, there is no time like the present. We are about to hit full swing. Protect yourself, and protect those in your community. Your flu shot is not just for you, but for your family, your friends, the people in line at the store, the people in the elevator, everyone you come within six feet of. We can’t know who around us might be more vulnerable, or who they may be going home to who is at higher risk.
Whether you’ve had your shot or not, please also remember these important tips to protect yourself and others.
- If you’re sick, stay home. I know it’s no fun to miss Christmas, but don’t pass it on to people you love. Don’t pass it on to your coworkers.
- If your kids are sick, keep them home from school. It might be a quick bug for them, but it could be more serious for a classmate. Or for their classmate’s two-year-old brother.
- Wash your hands. At least eight times a day, and more if necessary.
- Cover your mouth! Cough into your sleeve. Don’t sneeze on people. And then wash your hands again.
- Get plenty of rest and exercise, and eat well. Doing these things will help prevent you from getting sick in the first place.
- Talk to the people around you about what they can do to prevent the spread of the flu. If you have a high risk person in your life, protect them by having this conversation. I know that the flu isn’t a super fun topic, but talking about it with facts and respect can save lives. Let’s do that together. Let’s protect people this year.
Keep going, everyone! You’re doing great. We’re doing this together, and we’re going to try to prevent other families from going through what we’re going through. For Jude, for Everyone.