With uncertain flu season ahead, regional officials urge people to get flu shot

Expect the unexpected.

That's how Region of Waterloo Public Health is approaching this year's flu season. 

David Aoki, the region's manager of vaccine preventable diseases, says he's heard it might be a bad year or that it could be a good year, so really it's anyone's guess what this year's flu season will look like.

"What makes this year difficult to predict is that last year, we had no cases locally and nationally the cases were very low, so low that we have very little predictive information," Aoki told a board of health meeting Wednesday night. 

"We couldn't even have estimates from national bodies about the efficacy of the vaccine last year," he added.

"We have seen some other respiratory viruses already spread in the community. Other than COVID-19, it may indicate that the flu may return. So while there's still some public health measures in place, we are really promoting the flu vaccine."

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Last year, Region of Waterloo Public Health gave out a record number of flu shots and Aoki says staff expect to see the same numbers this year.

But most people will be getting their flu shots from a pharmacist, he said. Public health is scaling back flu shot clinics because staff are still allocated for region's COVID-19 response.

As well, he said pharmacists can give flu shots to people aged two and up. Previously pharmacists were only allowed to vaccinate people age five and up. Family doctors can give the flu shot to children as young as six months.

For this year's family flu clinics, public health will limit it to people with a family member two years of age or younger "to still meet that demand for people who can't be vaccinated at a pharmacy or don't have a family doctor or another place that they can get it," Aoki said.

So far this year public health has distributed almost 50,000 doses of the flu shot, Aoki said, "which is very good for this time of year."

"It's about equal to last year, but we expect our supply to pick up dramatically now as we enter November, which is truly when the flu season, the flu campaign for vaccination starts," he said.

Earlier this week, Health Minister Christine Elliott said Ontario is launching one of the largest flu immunization campaigns in the province's history.