Flu shots down by almost half
Posted Jan 20, 2011 05:10:12 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Despite what is described as a “normal” flu season, the number of people in the region being immunized against the virus is down significantly.
“Right now we have immunized approximately 10,000 people, whereas in previous years we would have immunized 15,000-22,000,” says Karen Quigley-Hobbs, Director, Infectious Diseases, Dental and Sexual Health at Public Health.
She believes the significant drop in vaccinations could be a result of less media attention this year after the H1N1 scare of a year ago as well as the mild fall. Hobbs says people tend to associate the flu with cold weather so they may not have been thinking about getting the flu shot while the weather was still mild.
Despite the drastic drop in the number of vaccinations being done, local health officials are not seeing a corresponding increase in lab-confirmed flu cases.
“I think in Waterloo Region, influenza activity can be said to be steady. It’s of moderate intensity compared to previous influenza seasons,” says Quigley-Hobbs. “So not the highest and not the lowest that we’ve seen.”
And unlike in other jurisdictions, our hospitals are not having difficulty dealing with flu cases.
At St. Mary’s, the greatest number of patients were treated during the last week of December and the first week of January. But officials say most presented with underlying conditions that made them more vulnerable to the flu.
At Grand River, while a number of patients are arriving with flu-like symptoms, the “vast majority” are being discharged to their homes.
That’s in sharp contrast to nearby London, Ontario, where hospital officials are encouraging patients to visit family doctors or walk-in clinics because wait times in emergency rooms are too long and there aren’t enough beds for patients.
Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews says some hospitals that can’t take any more patients are transferring people to other hospitals while others are doing everything they can to prevent the postponement of surgeries as the flu season tightens its grip on Ontario.
Matthews says the province is also monitoring the situation carefully, following where the outbreaks are and the effect on patient care.
