Province to launch free vaccination campaign Nov. 1
Public-health authorities across Quebec are launching the annual flu-vaccination campaign on Nov. 1, with nurses visiting longterm care centres to inoculate the elderly and CLSC clinics giving shots to infants from six months to 23 months of age.
The big question that arises every year is what kind of flu season this year’s will be — mild or severe. On Friday, the Quebec Health Department reported that “flu activity is very weak” in the province.
That assessment was shared by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization.
Still, authorities are cautioning Quebecers not to be lulled into a false sense of security, given that the course of the flu season is inherently unpredictable. They recommended free flu shots for:
Infants between the ages of six and 23 months;
Children 2-17 who suffer from certain chronic illnesses like asthma;
Pregnant women in their second or third trimester;
Adults who suffer from chronic illnesses, including pregnant women at any stage;
Those who are at least 60 years old.
“It would be unfortunate if vulnerable individuals hesitated to get vaccinated and then fell victim to complications of the flu, resulting in hospitalization and even death,” Dr. Horacio Arruda, Quebec’s chief public health officer, said in a statement. Each year, one in six Montrealers is sidelined with the flu. Roughly half of Montreal’s population is eligible for the free shots. This year’s trivalent vaccine will protect against three strains: A/California/07/09; A/Hong Kong/4801/2014; and B/ Brisbane/60/08.
A quadrivalent vaccine — which will also guard against a fourth strain, B/Phuket/3073/13 — will be given to infants who are six to 23 months old as well as children 2-17 with chronic illness. Quebec also recommends flu shots for healthcare workers as well as the family members and friends of those with weakened immune systems and infants under 6. Arruda noted that the latest studies “have raised questions about the immune response in cases of repeated vaccinations ... for individuals who are in good health.”
In the face of such studies, the Health Department has asked the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) to draft a position paper on mandatory vaccination for health-care workers. But until that position is known, doctors and other health professionals will continue to be vaccinated.